I recently started going to a small yoga studio down the street after the urging of my good friend, Liz. My husband and I have been going together in tandem with our new diet based on this book. I originally started doing this mainly as a weight loss deal since I can't manage to make myself get to the gym, but now I'm seriously addicted to yoga. See below for the why!
Time:
I don't have a life brimming with free time, and I'm sure you don't either. Each class is an hour, so by the time I get there, take the class, get home, it's less that an hour and 15 minutes. I can do that!
Beginner:
It's really good for me, and perhaps all of us, to be a beginner at something. Always learning, always being humbled, it's just a good state. Was I reluctant at first? OF COURSE. I hate not being the best at something or looking stupid (I really don't like the instructor saying instructions to the whole class that I know are just for me to adjust my pose... or maybe I have such a complex I assume it's all directed at me... that's probably it).
Small Studio:
Y'all already know how obsessed I am with my neighborhood... so of course, a neighborhood yoga studio fits perfectly in my life. I have already made several new friends, I don't feel judged there, and it's just small, sweet, comfortable. Usually the classes have about 10-15 people in them, so it's just nice and chill (except that one time we had 30+ people in that small room.. that wasn't very chill. If I had my phone then, I would have a funny picture to share now.)
Relax:
If I have a word for this year, which my skeptical self hasn't fully decided if I will or not, it would be relax. I can tend to take on a lot of stress, wind myself up, and never really relax. I think if I were able to regularly relax that so many other things in my life would fall into place, and ultimately, I would be a better person.
Ok, back to yoga, I have NEVER felt as relaxed as I do at the end of a class, especially the Yoga for Healing class. I think the closest I have ever gotten is when I've had a super relaxing bath, but we don't have a bathtub in our current apartment, so it has been awhile.
I am aware now of how wound up I was. How much stress I was holding onto. I'm feeling like I'm not too sure how I functioned without yoga, I guess I wasn't too nice of a person, not emitting much peace. See here.
I tend to take it all in. all the details , and I stress until every one is completed (which life has taught me rarely happens). But when I'm in the yoga class, it's totally different. I forget about my phone, the emails, the tasks... I don't even think that someone might be trying to get a hold of me. Most often, I get out of yoga, and the world has gone on just fine without me for one hour. Nothing has come crashing down, and there's a lesson for me in that - that's probably for another blog post!
My reason for practicing:
Sometimes at the end of a class, the instructor asks us, during Shavasana, to think about our reason for practicing. My answer has changed for that question each time it has been asked. But the last time he asked, I just about lost it, tears welling up. I felt so vulnerable - as if I had let go of control. Then it clicked. That's why I kept coming back to yoga... because it helps me release and let go of all the cares. I practice so I can let go, and that's why it's changed my life.*
*P.S. every other part of my life is marked by my constant photos... I have none for this post and I feel a little insecure about it. But then I feel happy because I even forget to take photos before/during/after yoga because I'm so lost in it. Phew - feel better with this disclaimer! ;-)
