All my life I have been a lover of high intensity workouts. From alpine ski racing to mountain running to cross fit style gym workouts, if it was competitive and fast I liked it. A few years ago, after retiring from ski racing, I discovered long distance running. It was completely different from what I was used to. There was no competition, no pressure, just me. It is the best outlet I have when I am stressed or upset about something. The beauty of running by yourself is your mind can wonder to places it never has before and the beauty of running with a friend is you get right to the root of each other. Way deeper than any coffee break or shopping trip can. Because I work at lululemon, make feathered earrings and don't believe in packaged foods; everyone assumes I love yoga. Nay nay mon amie this is NAT true. I got deep into Pilates for a few months which lead me into my first yoga class. I can't even remember what kind it was. All I remember was counting down the seconds until I could leave because I was over it before I even started. In the year following, I tried Bikram and sort of liked it..... then I tried Moksha and kinda really liked it.... but it was always a chore for me. I wasn't excited to go. With running and the gym, if I don't go for a few days I feel restless and soft. With Yoga if I didn't go for a month it really never fazed me. Turns out (here comes the point of my rambling!) I simply wasn't going to the right classes.
Tonight my friend Julie took me to Lotus Soul Gym on Whyte Avenue; a block or so east of lululemon. We went to a Vinyasa Flow class and I can't even describe to you how great my hips feel right now. Im still on a high two hours later. We finished the class with headstands (I have never tried them before and just assumed I wasn't Yogi enough) I got up on my first try. With a little help and guidance from my good friend Julz of course. I am excited about Yoga and I am excited about getting better at it. I am going to go once a week from here on out.
Ok so moral of my ramblings are: Do the workouts you enjoy ie: running, swimming, zumba, etc. but mix in a little yoga for the love of your sacrum. If you don't like one class try another. It really isn't as scary as you may think. Turns out Yoga teachers are all really nice. It won't hurt to drag a friend along. Set a date and hold each other accountable.
love love love,
from one not-so-yogi to another.
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