I AM ADDICTED to YOGA!! This phrase is uttered on a regular basis these days by me and it always catches be by surprise. I am (even after more than a year) still amazed at this!
However, a little more than a year ago, I woke up one day with an overwhelming NEED to do yoga?!?! Not sure where this absurd idea came from, but just to be on the safe side, I figured I would just keep this crazy notion to myself.
Before this insane epiphany, I was the person saying “Hell, NO!! I don’t want to go to yoga!?!” I am not an ‘exercising’ type person…so whenever this question came up, I was never even the slightest bit interested in doing anything that involved working up a sweat for no apparent reason. I have a good friend (who was my roommate for years) who has been doing yoga and teaching yoga for years and years, and she has always asked me to come with her and I have always been steadfast (with love, of course) in my answer, saying “No, I most definitely DO NOT want to go stand on my head. YOU ARE CRAZY!”
So for a day and a half, I spent most of that time with my [easyazon_link identifier=”B00BYHTK5Y” locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”scrmus06-20″]Kindle[/easyazon_link] checking out the [easyazon_link identifier=”B005WXVW52″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”scrmus06-20″]Yoga Journal[/easyazon_link] magazine. I figured looking at some beautiful, skinny people in expensive yoga attire, turning themselves inside out might be enough to change my mind. When that didn’t work, I tried reading a few little ‘yoga for beginners’ type books…like this [easyazon_link identifier=”B00XJPSNZM” locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”scrmus06-20″]one[/easyazon_link], and this [easyazon_link identifier=”B007SNMIF2″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”scrmus06-20″]one[/easyazon_link], and this [easyazon_link identifier=”B00QVN2X3W” locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”scrmus06-20″]one[/easyazon_link]…I was OBSESSED!! I couldn’t put them down?!?! My thought was that reading about yoga would quench this yearning to do yoga..but it did the exact opposite…it fueled this absurd need to do yoga?! I was thinking about yoga 24/7!!
Finally, on a Monday morning in April, I got in my car and drove down to the nearest yoga studio to find out about classes. This step, in and of itself was a huge deal. I am a major chicken about life sometimes (ok…actually, all the time) and the thought of walking into a studio, where I knew no one and knew nothing at all about yoga (well, that’s not entirely true…I thought yoga people were a little (read, A LOT) crazy, health-nutty, tree huggers, who stood on their heads all the time…obviously not very helpful information. Although the jury is still out on these original thoughts…but I digress…) was totally frightening…but I couldn’t help myself…I NEEDED TO DO YOGA!!
The young woman at the studio, was so awesome…friendly, funny, nice, helpful… she gave me a class schedule sheet and listed all of the ones that would be good to start with…and the next thing you know…I was filling out a waiver and paying for a Restorative yoga class that was being held later that day?!?! The whole while, my mind was screaming, “Who are you?! And what are you doing??” But I couldn’t contain myself any longer, I had to take a class today!! There was an actual beginner class on Tuesday evening…but I couldn’t wait that long…I NEEDED TO DO YOGA RIGHT NOW!!
From the parking lot of the yoga studio, I texted my long-time yoga-teaching friend (who, remember, has been trying to get me to do yoga with her for YEARS!!) that I just paid for a yoga class, that I was going to later that day. She was overjoyed and excited (and quite frankly, mystified and wondering what the heck had gotten into me!) but after her initial shock, she was so excited and full of tips and information and wanted to hear all about the details after class.
Later that day, I got back in my car and drove to my very first yoga class. The fact that I really did go back, I’m still astonished at. But the class was awesome! The people were awesome! Restorative yoga is awesome!
I went back the next day for the Beginner class…and the day after that for a Gentle Flow class…I bought a 10-class package deal…then a monthly unlimited class package deal…and then an unlimited year class package deal…and the rest, as they say, is history!
Namaste!
Linking up with Jill for Fitness,Health and Happiness
It is a common misconception–even here in India, to refer to asanas as yoga, whereas they only form a small part of yoga–yoga means union, and is a method of uniting with the divine. Traditional yoga begins with the ethical precepts of yamas and niyamas, proceeds to asanas and pranayama, and then to pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi.