Yoga Lessons - Strength

Today was a Hot Yoga class at Yoga Tree Midtown, and it was great!
There's nothing like a good sweat and stretch at 6:30 in the morning! ;)

It was a challenge to get up early enough, but I managed - and I'm thankful I did. The teacher of this class was great, and I didn't realize she was teaching this class - but it was none other than Jennifer Nicol, who's quite the inspirational woman in terms of health and fitness! So it was an honour to have been to one of her classes. :) There was a high energy, challenging poses, intense heat in the room (which after a long winter, I'm loving!), and I left feeling great.

The thought for this class was "Strength", and was very fitting. It took strength to get up early, strength to go through the poses, and it's always important to have strength and not give up when you feel like you can't do something the "right" way. I found the mental and emotional strength to not get discouraged, and to not push my body past what was feeling right at that moment in time.

I've had those times where I try to push myself past the point that I can handle, and I've injured myself because of that. So today, I put in a strong effort, but kept my mind strong as well.

Everything in life is a learning process, and staying strong and persisting, while being kind to yourself - is a very important thing.Strength isn't just about the physical, but it's about the mental and spiritual as well. All three are connected. You can start any physical activity you want, but if you don't have the mental strength to stick to it and work through weaknesses, you won't get very far.

Speaking of strength...
After the class, I had some time before work, so I went to the gym. I gave myself some time to do some work on my back (and a bit of biceps, triceps, and shoulders).
Then, after a quick shower, I was off to start my day feeling refreshed and energized! What a great way to start the day...

Yoga Lessons - You Get What You Need

"You can't always get what you want, but you get what you need."

Today was another Hot Yoga class - but with a cooler temperature and more of a focus on stretches and twists rather than a continuous routine. It felt like an instructional class rather than "Yoga", but the teacher went into great detail about specific moves and how to get the most out of them.

Normally, I'd go into a Yoga class with the expectation that there will be some music, and then we go into a sequence of moves, and then it's done. The format is similar in all classes I've taken, even though each class has been different over the years. I've come to expect this as the norm for Yoga classes.

This class reminded me of what we want in life, and how sometimes we go into situations wanting specific things. Or, if not wanting, we come to expect them. But what happens when things don't turn out the way you expect? Well, that just means they turn out differently. And guess what - sometimes, it turns out to be something you needed more than that thing you wanted.

This class was exactly that for me. Today, I was really sore (and still am!) from the last two days of Yoga. It's movement that my body is unfamiliar with, so I'm feeling it now. Today as I sat at my desk and clicked "book" for the 5:45pm class, I got worried that I wouldn't make it through each sequence of the Yoga class. I knew I wanted to go, I was excited... But worried that it wouldn't be comfortable for me. I felt like I needed a day of break and stretching out tense muscles.
The funny thing is that this class gave me exactly that. It was a workout still, and I put effort into it, but it was also a great one for loosening up my body.

This element of trying things anyway, and not getting what you want or expect, can lead you to finding things that you really need.


Now here's a little happiness for your ears in light of this lesson... Have a beautiful day.

Yoga Lessons - Persistence and Time

Yesterday was Day 2 of my 30 Days of Yoga, and I took a gentle Hatha Yoga class at Yoga Tree - Midtown. The atmosphere was definitely very different from my first class at this studio (the Hot Yoga class), and I expected that. The room was bright, the shades were pulled up to let more light in, and the pace of the class was somewhat fast. The poses were challenging for me which I enjoyed, though any Yoga pose can be a challenge if you let it be. You only get out of it what you put into it.

That being said, I encountered something I've faced at other Yoga studios in the past that has usually deterred me from continuing classes there: I didn't like the teacher. 

Now, it's nothing against her really... I mean, I'm sure she's a nice person but I don't even know the woman (I can't even remember her name), so I can't form a legitimate opinion of who she is. That being said, something about how she spoke and how she taught the class just didn't sit well with me. It's the little things in a Yoga class that stand out in your mind, and for me these things weren't in line with what I wanted. She almost gave off that elitist Yoga attitude (probably not even intentional), and that's not something I enjoy in the least bit.

I found myself about halfway through silently wishing for the class to hurry up and end.
I started to feel anxiety, and became very aware of noises in the hallway from people sitting outside waiting for another class to start. I could hear the "ding" from the elevator in the outer hallway. I could hear people shifting into their poses, and opening up their water bottles to drink. I had that feeling that I wanted to leave. I was feeling the "fight or flight" response, and wanted more than anything to "fly" out of that room and go home.
I get this feeling every day.
I sit at my desk thinking "okay, it's almost _:__ o'clock, it's just __ more hours until I can leave..."
I sit (or stand...) on the subway thinking "okay, just ___ more stops until mine..."
I walk places, past crowds of people, frustrated with how slow they walk, or how they cut me off while I'm walking...

I immediately stopped myself from thinking about all of this, and just took a deep breath. I wanted to take these classes for my well being, and I wanted to escape from the hold that anxiety has on me.
I took a sip of water, and I told myself "it's not the external situations that's bothering you, it's all in your mind".
I took another deep breath, held it, and released. I knew this class wasn't working for me, but I realized that what I was feeling was only my perception of the situation. It was just a room with people, and we were all bending and stretching into poses. The sounds I was hearing were always there, whether I noticed them or not, and the only difference was that I was allowing myself to lose focus on the task at hand and be distracted by things that didn't matter, and things that I couldn't control.

So I persisted. 
I focused on each pose, albeit wobbly, and went deeper into each stretch. I took deep breaths in through my nose, and released the hold on my lungs to let the stale air out. I continued on with the class right until the end, and took the few moments while rolling up my mat to silently thank myself for staying.
I was happy that I didn't give up, and that I persisted.

Time will pass. 
Not all situations in life will be favorable, but that doesn't mean you should spend that time wishing for time to pass. Time is such a precious and fleeting "thing", and it passes at the same speed whether we're miserable or enjoying it. I want to spend my time here being IN the moment, instead of looking back at my time on this earth with a sense of longing for more of it because of all the wasted and unappreciated moments.

Yoga!

Back to the Mat! 

Yesterday, I went for my first Yoga class in almost a year. It was a Hot Yoga class in the "Fire" (I love that!) room - which I found fitting as I'm a fire sign (no, I'm not an astrology fanatic).

I decided to purchase a 30 day unlimited pass from Yoga Tree in Toronto, and I have a feeling this is one of the better decisions I've made for myself.

My mini-goal is to do Yoga every day for the next 30 days. Whether I go to a class every day, or practice at home and go to a few class sessions each week - I will achieve this! But my goal goes much deeper than 30 days...

Goals

I've felt like I'm at a stagnant phase in my life. I feel like I've lost a connection with myself, and the anxious stressful feelings that constantly plague my mind are getting old. I want to let them go, and I want to move past them. I know I have some deep thinking to do in terms of goals I have for myself, my career, and whatever else - but I need to approach this thought process with a clear mind. I guess you could say I'm doing a cleanse of the mind for a little while. 

There's so much focus on "cleanses" and "detoxes" with food, and people like to do these as the seasons change - but why not do a mental cleanse too? 

First Class Experience

I shouldn't really say this is my "first class", as I'm familiar with Yoga. However, I haven't been to a class since around this time last year. It was a Jock Yoga class, and it was phenomenal. I also used to do P90X Yoga on the regular. Mostly for fitness and flexibility though. I'm not sure why I didn't pick my practice back up, and I'm not sure how I lost it for the past year - but I'm happy to start back up. 

The studio was quiet, with very nice women working at the counter. They were friendly and welcoming, and I even had a nice chat with one of them while waiting for the previous class to finish. The atmosphere won me over instantly, because I've been to studios that give me that cold "clique" feeling that I remember all too well from my high school years.

I went for an 8:15pm Hot Yoga class, and surprisingly there was only 8 or 9 students. I'm not complaining though, because I didn't have that stress of rushing to find a spot where I wouldn't be kicked in the face during Downward Dog. 

The lights were dim, and the air was hot. I stayed in corpse pose until the class started, it was a beautiful feeling. I focused on my breath, and took some time to just let thoughts enter and leave my mind without any control. 

Class started, and it was a glorious sweat-filled hour of deep stretches, twists, and a move I've never done before! (Upward Facing Bow/Wheel Pose! I've never done this before, and was shown how to ease into it!)

Accomplishments

I know this seems like a small accomplishment to experienced Yogis, and to people who don't practice it may seem silly... But to me, it was about more than just the pose. It was about going into a situation and not thinking I could accomplish a specific task. I find this is a big roadblock for me in life. Whether it be in my career, with my fitness goals, or with anything really... I constantly underestimate myself and what I'm capable of. I look at other people who are finding "success", and who are happy - and I think "that could never be me".

But, with encouragement and knowledge - I took a chance, I attempted something I had not yet done before - and I saw success!
This class gave me the valuable reminder that my abilities are only as limited as I believe them to be. I needed this, and as I'm typing this, I feel like crying. It's not that I'm sad, but I feel a little more opened up than I did even just a few days ago. This one moment gave me access to a vision of reaching for things I previously believed to be out of reach.

For this, I am grateful. I know I will have good and bad moments during my practice, and I look forward to what I can learn from each and every one.