My first Yoga class...........

I had been planning on going to a yoga class for some time now, because the last time I went to a massage therapist, she had told me yoga would be good for me, very relaxing, etc. So, I found a yoga class at my gym last night. Of course, I went in early because I like to work up a sweat when I work out and this yoga stuff is for sissies. No way would I work up a sweat or really get a workout. It's just a bunch of stretching and breathing mammo jammo, right?

So, I did a little cardio before I went to the class. As I walked in I looked around and saw everyone was sitting in the dark, it was chilly, they were all on mats (mats? Was I supposed to bring a mat? Darn it!). I obviously, being the yoga virgin I was, didn't have one, so I grabbed one of the mats that the gym provides and sat it down in the back of the class. I sat on the slightly smelly mat and looked around. Most people had their eyes closed, sitting Indian style and looked relatively peaceful and barefoot! So, I took my shoes off, like everyone else but kept my socks on (thank goodness I wore my cute Christmas socks) . The intructor walked in a few minutes later and asked if anyone was new to her class. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one who raised my hand. But then she asked, "Anyone new to yoga?" Yep. That time, I was flying solo. She welcomed me and the classmate to my right snickered and told me I would soon be addicted. Hmmmmm. 'We'll see about that' I thought to myself.

Class started with laying on our back, proceeded to some different poses; downward facing dog, child's pose, cobra pose, half planks and upward facing dog. So far, this was pretty easy and I was feeling great. It is actually super nice to relax and stretch and focus on my breathing for a change without actually having to catch my breath. But then the movements started to speed up a little and the intesity was amplified in the movements. We started to do warrior poses, all three stages and lunges, both high and low, stretching the spine and regulating our breath. This was getting a little difficult! My legs started to get a little sore and I was feeling a little bit exhausted! I even started to break into a little sweat! Wow! THIS CLASS IS AWESOME!!! Some of the poses we're more difficult than others and I felt like I was using muscles I hadn't used before. I mean, I probably was. The stretches felt amazing and I really enjoyed actually breathing. In our daily lives we don't take time to focus on breathing. Most of the time, we're so busy living our lives and routines, that we just take short shallow breaths. In this yoga class we focused a lot on breathing and, boy, did it feel nice.

The class ended with a cooling down on our backs, cosing our eyes and focusing on being in the now. We sat on our mats, Indian style, placed our hands in prayer position and closed our class with a "Namaste". Namaste means " The soul in me salutes the spirit in you". This is a greeting, salutation, farewell from one person to another.



So, to sum it up I now love yoga. I will go out and buy my own mat and become a regular of this yoga class... It was a great workout, I relaxed, I got to breath, and I'm sore today!

This will one day be me!!!!!

Oh, I take back that whole, "Yoga is for sissies" thing I said earlier ;o)

Thanks,

Tiffany

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