Yoga in Spanish class in West Palm Beach

Yoga instructor Monica Hornung assists students
in the Yoga in Spanish class.

Como se dice "downward dog" en espanol?

I didn't know either, that's why the Yoga in Spanish class intrigued me at the seventh annual Yoga Day in West Palm Beach. The full day of free yoga took place Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Meyer Amphitheatre, near the recently redeveloped waterfront.

I also wanted to experience yoga in another language, trying to feel like a  foreigner in my own land. When I couldn't understand what the instructor was saying, I looked at the students next to me for clues on what to do.

For longtime yoga instructor Monica Hornung, it was the first time she taught a class in Spanish in West Palm Beach. She's taught in Spanish when hosting yoga workshops in Mexico and Venezuela.

She also said there are several ways to describe the yoga positions, depending on what dialect of Spanish you prefer. Plus, there are the Sanskrit position names, which she also gave in Spanish.

Posicion de triangulo

Downward dog is either posicion de perro hacia abajo or V invertida.

Cobra up dog is posicion de cobra perro arriba.

Triangle becomes posicion de triangulo in Spanish.

Hornung repeated this phrase "Inhalar profundamente, exhalar completamente" as we were lying in Shavasna at the end of class. My basic Spanish told me that she was saying, "Inhale deeply, exhale completely."

Spanish class natural for South Florida

The idea for the Yoga in Spanish class came from Madison Moore, who revived Yoga Day after last year's organizers moved to Arizona.

"I discovered on Nov. 20 that the event was cancelled," she said last week. She hustled for the next two months to pull the event together, including contacting vendors, sponsors, yoga teachers and food trucks without info left by the previous organizers. "I was a yoga teacher and a yogi with the background to pull it off."

She expected a few thousand to attend and hoped to make enough money to contribute to the Connected Warriors group, which offers free yoga to service members, veterans and their families. She also hopes to have enough cash left over to pay for permits and the like for next year's Yoga Day -- the 8th annual one.

Moore offered classes that were unusual, including Arthritis/Low Mobility and Yoga in Spanish. "I looked at the (potential) students -- older people with low-mobility and people without good English-language skills," she explained.

Hornung (left) demonstrates the warrior position or
posicion de guerrero.

The Yoga in Spanish sounded a natural fit for our South Florida location where many Spanish-speakers live. In fact, I had a "Why didn't someone else think of that" moment when I heard about the class.

About 30 people attended that class on the east berm of the Meyer.

I'm wondering how many of my readers would go to a Yoga in Spanish class if one were available locally -- either to brush up on your Spanish or to  finally take a yoga class in your native language. Please respond in the comment section below. Thanks!

And now, for my numbers

I had my best walking day last week on Monday, Feb.25, 2013, when I walked:

Steps: 12,929
Miles: 6.5