New #16: Yoga

I didn't think I'd like yoga one bit. It's always seemed like one of those hobbies best suited for the hippy-chic crowd, or else the kind of person who thinks running is really fun. Not me. I thought that I, an inflexible ball of tight muscles and tension, would have to wrap my legs around my neck while standing on one hand. And through it all, I figured I'd be fighting the constant urge to fart. But thankfully, after my first yoga class, I'm happy to say none of it was true.

Still, the beginning of this new wasn't easy. One of the hardest parts of getting me to yoga in the first place was that I always thought it was a little bit too cool for me, and walking into the classroom at my gym didn't help with the intimidation factor much. The lights were dimmed low, with three candles glowing near the stage. There was new age music playing in the background. And five minutes before it was set to start, there were already dozens of yogis sprawled out on their mats, some silently stretching and others seemingly sleeping. Everyone had taken off their shoes. The hippy vibes were definitely oozing - and so was my anxiety.

But then I met our instructor. I don't know if she's already reached the total peace of Nirvana, but this girl somehow put everything at easy. Once she started giving us directions, I could finally relax. And apparently, that's what yoga is all about.

We started with a meditation-like exercise, focusing on relaxing every inch of our body. With eyes closed, we made sure our shoulders were loose, our neck was straight and even that our tongue wasn't pressed to the roof our mouth. I never knew my tongue could carry tension, but it was so nice to free the little licker and let it go.

Soon, I was calm. And it was with this serenity that we began working into the yoga positions I'd been dreading. But the way we transitioned from one little move to the next, they really weren't very bad at all. Even the instructions on how to get into each new step was peaceful. In yoga, you don't press your foot to the ground. No, no. Instead, you "invite your heel to the earth." Like I said, very peaceful.

Before I knew it, we'd somehow transitioned from sitting with our legs out in front to making a plank, which is like you're ready to do a push-up. It was while holding this position that I first learned how yogis get their exercise. My usual work outs of kickboxing and treadmills are constant huffing and puffing with an elevated heart rate. But with yoga, it's more of a constant burning of the whole body that kills the calories. I never was out of breath, but even 15 minutes into class I was starting to sweat.

Not used to this kind of training, things started to get weird for me. While holding the plank position, my body began vibrating from head to toe. I could almost hear my muscles crying WTF! And I can only imagine how pathetic my jitters and gyrating must have looked. But like a true yogi, I held strong. Soon it was over and we were back to more meditating.

The entire class was very serene, even with the bouts of painful positions thrown in. Nothing was unbearable. After we were finished with various moves, I could feel a new strength in my muscles and body. It wasn't a soreness, but more of a burn that made me feel empowered and alive. Who knew yoga could hurt so good?

Toward the end, we did some more sitting, stretching and reflecting. The instructor asked us to think about what we'd gained from the class. By this point, I was so totally relaxed, content and happy, I was proud to realize I'd gained a new hobby that afternoon. I've never left a workout feeling quite as calm. It actually was comparable to leaving an hour-long massage. Seriously. So slather on some patchouli and call me a hippy, but I think yoga is something I'm definitely going to be doing more of in the future.

Namaste.