i did yoga and i liked itttttt

last night, i went to my very first yoga class.

let’s just let that sink in for a second, mmmkay? because for me, that’s a pretttty big deal.  talk about facing your fitness fears/doing something totally out of your comfort zone — that’d be yoga, in my world.

i honestly had no idea what to expect, and as i’ve shared before, i was prettttty sure i’d resemble something along these lines:

thankfully, it wasn’t half that bad. as in, i felt pretty amazing and like i could totally get the hang of this and enjoy it as a complement to my running.

one of my bestest friends is really into yoga and has been so amazingly consistent in encouraging me to try a class with her for the past, errr, six months or so, and she took me to a Foundations class last night at Om Factory in Midtown. annnnd it was pretty darn awesome.

i’ve read quite a few other bloggers’ posts recently about “facing their fitness fears,” and i think yoga was about as close to a fitness fear for me as i’ve experienced in a while. it was more of the complete uncertainty surrounding it, worrying that i’d feel so silly in a room with a bunch of amazing yogis who know all the pose names and have these super flexible hips and hamstrings which my runner’s legs can only cry about.

and, like, om symbols and lotus flowers tattooed all over them and be way, way cooler than i am.

in all honesty, i think i stayed out of a yoga studio for months because i was just so darn sure that i’d be that bad at it. and if you know me, you know that’s something i struggle with: i hate being bad at things. it’s not even that i’m super competitive with other people (okay so mayyyyyybe a little sometimes) — i just get really hard on myself. i should be able to run faster. i should be able to spin better in salsa. i should just naturally be an amazing yogi, because i like planks. and yoga pants.

when in reality, we need the learning curve. we need new challenges and new opportunities to grow; new ways to push ourselves both mentally and physically; new feats to embrace and ways to move ourselves forward. we cannot all be amazing at everything the first time, and there’s so much to learn from the journey.

so what if i wasn’t doing any headstands or weird animal-named poses or touching my toes to the back of my head (seriously people, join the circus. right, i’m just jealous)…

i still felt so good and so accomplished just trying something new, and stretching myself (pun intended?) in a different way. it was nothing like the workouts i’m used to, but it was still strenuous at times and definitely enjoyable and challenged me, which is all i can ask for.

and every time she said to get into plank position, my little heart rejoiced. at least i’ve got that one down, without having to see what Alex was doing beside me. me and planks are super tight.

i definitely enjoyed myself and would go back in a heartbeat. it wasn’t half as intimidating as i expected and made me very conscious of how i was using my body. i’m not as self-aware when i’m running, as i am so used to it and just zone out with my music on and go for miles, whereas with this, i was totally focused on the lines of my body and how i was breathing and just being present with myself. and that was a really nice, unexpected change of pace.

so yay for yoga class #1 being tucked away behind me! already looking forward to the next.

Question:
What’s a fitness “fear” you have, or something you’re skeptical to try?
Any big yoga fans out there? Serious question for you: where do you buy your cutest yoga pants? 🙂

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