First Time Yoga-er

Last night, I went to my first official yoga class. One of my friends is big into yoga. Almost every day, he comes to my office and draws a stick figure person in a yoga position, along with the Sanskrit name and English name of the pose.

They had a free community class on Friday night and he invited me and I decided to go. Now, my experience with yoga is pretty small. I did it once in Scotland in a gym filled with Elite athletes. Since no one had done yoga before, there was quite a bit of laughing and giggling as we all tried to put our bodies in impossible poses.

My latest experience comes from Megan Townsend on ExerciseTV. She does a 20 minute yoga clip that I have tried a few time in the comfort of my living room. You can try it out here:

http://www.exercisetv.tv/workout-videos/body-sculpting/beginner-yoga-3933

Those two experiences were nothing like last night...

Last night, I showed up at an actual yoga studio. I grabbed a mat, a blanket, some blocks, and a belt and wandered shoeless in. (I kept my socks on, I am not into barefoot fun..) Let the yoga begin.

It was a hard wooded room with soft lighting and light colored paint on the walls. As we started, I was continually reminded of my inflexibility, not only by the awkward feeling and effort it took for some of these poses, but also the "help" I received as the teacher came and straightened me up a few times.

I was surprised at the emotion that came with some of the poses. It was like it released the tension of the week (or my lifetime since I have never properly done yoga). At some points, I just wanted to be done, I was tired of being in this supposedly calming room trying to force my body to do things it didn't want to do. Some of the poses actually drew tears, tears of sadness as I realized that my right leg and back were so immobile, tears of vulnerability at the unfamiliar situation, and tears of joy when it was over (ok, just kidding on that one.)

Yet, when it was done, I almost feel like I want to go again. That hour of yoga was more than just a few poses and a bit of stretching, somehow, it was healing. Healing my body and my mind. Afterward, I wasn't physically fatigued, but I was tired. It was quite the work out.

So, my advice to you, if you have never gone, go once. If anything, it puts you in a vulnerable place to open your heart and your mind, not to mention it gives you an hour of peace and quiet.