Towards the end of last year I made it a goal to have a better relationship with my body in 2020. I’m no stranger to working out in a gym or eating clean but I wanted to incorporate a practice that I could do both alone and with a group of people. A little over a month ago I signed up for my first ever yoga class at Enso Apothecary and let me tell you nervous doesn’t begin to describe how I was feeling. I packed my bag the night before and the next day all I could think about is how I’d look like a complete fool amongst a bunch of poised women. I have a nasty habit of SOMETIMES not wanting to try things if I think I’m not going to be good at it. I’m not competitive by nature but I have a small strand of perfectionist in my DNA. I had seen the kind of women who practiced yoga and man I was not it. Or least that’s what I thought. After I got over the initial “ I’m not very good at this”, negative inner talk I actually began to enjoy the class and it was a plus that both the teachers and the studio owner were really encouraging.
So after attending classes for a little over a month here are 3 thing I’ve learned so far:
1. Test my limits
In each yoga class you’ll do a sequence of yoga poses and stretches holding each pose for a given amount of time before flowing to the next. While in the ‘Zen’ portion of one of my first classes, where poses are held longer, I found it harder to sit in the pose because I was uncomfortable. Just as I was going to reposition myself, to be honest I wanted to quit, the teacher spoke saying “Try to hold the pose even if it’s uncomfortable. You’ll grow through the discomfort.” She began to explain that if we held the pose long enough we’d notice we’ve stretched deeper and wider than we originally were. And she was right. I took a deeper breath in through my nose, releasing the air out my mouth and found my body stretching beyond what I imagined it could.
This resonated with me because I often find myself quitting midway through the process because I’m uncomfortable or not seeing progress. So every time I quit I cheated myself & extended some inevitable processes. I didn’t realize that through the discomfort I was growing and stretching deeper.
“When God gets ready to change your life it begins with a stretch. This lesson is meant to show you your capacity not to push you to your breaking” - Sarah Jakes Roberts
2. Be present
Being present is one of the biggest components of yoga but for someone who thinks a million thoughts per minute it was hard. A lot of the time our minds are on autopilot moving from one thing to the next not really taking in the moment. One minute we’re in the car driving and next we’re home with no recollection of how we got there. During class I would find my mind wandering to thoughts of the laundry I needed to fold, what song was playing, what I was going to eat later etc. Really I was focused on anything but breathing, engaging my body in the movements and just being there. I thought I needed to distract my mind from the discomfort to get through it. What needed to happen was me making the conscious effort to silence my mind of all thoughts that didn’t connect me to the moment and the awareness of my body. Through doing this I learned how to react to the different signals my body was sending me. I was more aware of when I was improving my poses and I felt lighter after class. All it took was being present in the moment and listening to what my body was telling me.
3.There’s no need to be perfect
Just as my yoga instructor so eloquently put it “ No one cares if you can stretch all the way to the back wall. Only you care.” As I mentioned before there’s a pesky strand of perfectionist in my DNA so in my mind I needed to be great my first time going and every class after that. Well I’m not perfect but it was relaxing and cathartic so I got over that real quick. These days I’m much more concerned with staying connected to my body, mind and improving my balance. It’s not important that you come across as a poised prima ballerina. But if you do more power to you! As I attended each yoga session I realized it’s more important that you’re engaged in the movements, listening to your body and showing yourself some compassion.
Just like with anything I remembered why I started the practice, I wanted a better relationship with my body. And that’s what keeps me going.
Hopefully you’ve found yourself inspired to stretch your limits, be present in the moment and strive for improvement over perfection.
Interested in yoga? Click the links below to find online yoga resources or classes near you.
Online YOGA resources:
YouTube.com
Gaia.com
