For a long time, I’ve had this understanding—or maybe lack of understanding—of what yoga actually is. From my point of view, seeing glimpses of yoga on television shows or in movies, I thought yoga was about stretching.
I’m here to testify that I was completely wrong.
I tried a short session of yoga about four years ago. Being my adventurous self, I was seeking out a different activity and it was recommended that I try yoga. I was told I needed to slow my mind down and learn to relax my body. I’ve always enjoyed high-intensity, highly active fitness, and sports like Zumba and soccer, so I wasn’t sure how yoga would fit into my life.
I didn’t enjoy it. I could not for the life of me turn my brain off during yoga. I kept thinking of the next 50 things I needed to do that week. I was that person in class who was always falling over or breathing too fast. So I decided not to try yoga again.
Until a couple weeks ago.
I figured I should give yoga another chance. I’m at a different point in my life now, and I was confident that I could turn my brain off for a little while.
I got my yoga mat ready and my water bottle filled—which I then left on the counter at home!— and headed down to the curling rink in Niverville. I had texted a friend who’s in the same class to ask what she wore for footwear. Me being me, I was going to bring my runners, but she recommended socks or bare feet. Okay, good! I had that covered.
We get started by sitting on our mats with our legs crossed and palms on top of our knees.
“Focus on your breathing,” says Noreen, our yoga instructor. “Clear your mind and just focus on breathing in through your nose and out your mouth, like you’re fogging a mirror.”
Okay, I can do this.
And then my mind starts thinking, Oh, what should I plan for dinner tomorrow? What should I do when I’m done this class—do the dishes, take a shower? Breathe! Crap, I’m forgetting to breathe. Am I doing this right?
Throughout the night, Noreen kept reminding people (probably mostly me) to keep breathing slowly and to hang our heads instead of holding them up. And she corrected my poses as my knees slipped out of place.
As we progressed through the class, I felt my hips open up and my breathing get slower. I found that my body was handling the class pretty well. I was only shaky after 30 seconds of holding a pose. I took breaks regularly and only toppled over once! A great success.
As the class ended, we laid on our mats for five minutes, focusing on our breathing, clearing our minds, and thinking of nothing. In which I had to keep repeating nothing in my head so I literally thought of nothing—and it worked.
When I stood up, my legs felt like jello and my shoulders were sore. I couldn’t believe it; I felt like I had run a marathon. It felt great, like I’d done a workout, and that’s what it was.
Every yoga class ends with a bow, in the lotus position, with one’s hands in front of their heart, saying, “Namaste.” This means “the light in me sees the light in you.”
It was an amazing time and I slept pretty well that night.
