Yoga. That’s easy right?

Recently wrote an essay in my Personal Essay class about Yoga, check it out!

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Yoga. That’s easy right? I started to think of all the reasons why it was time to find a new workout routine, or rather “a workout routine” seeing that I have yet to make a consistent appearance to the gym this semester. Coming back from my overweight UK abroad life wasn’t easy. Slowly but surely I shredded off the wonderful cheese and baguettes, the heart attack cookies, and the never-ending British Chinese food. Let’s be real though; it was easy to shed off because I simply stopped drinking the poisonous alcohol that somehow ended up in my body at least 4 times a week. Now that its been a few months, and I feel back to my “normal”, I’ve neglected the fact that it’s probably a good idea to exercise daily no matter how comfortable I am with myself. Not only was it a good idea to have some sort of physical movement, but also something to relieve senior year stress and everything in between. Maybe I could find my “Zen” or whatever they call it. Maybe Yoga could be the answer to feeling a tiny bit more motivated as I struggle through the disease of Senioritous. Maybe just maybe Yoga could help free my jam packed mind as I start thinking about that thing that comes post graduation; The Real World.

I happen to stumble upon an unlimited $20 deal for two weeks at a downtown Yoga studio called Mighty Yoga. The title was just the beginning of my worry for what was to come when I would show up to a class at the ambitious time of 8am the next day. The description for the class called “Mighty Flow” was equally comforting yet terrifying:

“Some like it hot! Mighty Flow turns up the heat and wrings you out! Through this energetic, vigorous vinyasa practice, you’ll cultivate strength, flexibility, endurance and greater body awareness. Classes include traditional and creative sequences of postures rooted in the breath that will invigorate and challenge you. Instructors offer modifications and variations throughout the class, making these classes accessible for students of all levels”

The nervous thoughts started pouring through my head about this potential new workout. How hot is hot? Is this that new workout fetish called “hot yoga”? I sweat a lot so this might be an issue. It was somewhat comforting to see that instructors offered modifications, seeing that my body certainly can’t bend the way it used to. Gosh, I was sounding like a 70-year-old woman who walks the mall daily.

The next morning came too soon and I started to feel the pains of waking up earlier than 9am (just one of the symptoms of Senioritous). As I got ready, I decided I would go simple and wear athletic shorts and a sporty tank top. All of which I had no idea if I had even brought back to school this fall. After taking what felt like a trip through Narnia to find them, I put on my sneakers and put my hair up in a high ponytail. Wait; do they even wear sneakers in Yoga? I had been to a Yoga class ages ago in high school but I couldn’t remember. I soon found a “Studio Etiquette” page on their website and while I didn’t find out the sneaker issue, I realized that I needed to bring a towel and a mat. Good thing I had a stained Yoga mat in the back of my car for whatever reason.

When I got downtown I walked down the street and actually passed the Yoga studio and didn’t realize until a man came up to me and said, “Yoga is upstairs”. I guess my Yoga mat gave me away. When I walked upstairs I was definitely too early and stood in the hallways because all the doors were locked. After about 5 minutes went by a woman came up the stairs, clearly out of breath and said “Hi, so sorry to be late! I got stuck behind a school bus!” As she unlocked “the lounge” and the check-in room, I knew this was my chance to ask as many questions as I could so I wouldn’t look like an idiot when more people started to arrive.

“Hi, I’m Katelyn! Do I need to check-in or anything?”

“Ah your Katelyn! Did you fill out the waiver online or do I need to give it to you here?” she started to reach for a clipboard.

“No I think I did that online. Just wanted to let you know that I’m new to Yoga.”

“Ahhh welcome to Mighty Yoga!” I think she was more excited than I was. “Have you ever done any kind of Yoga before?”

“Years ago I did it in high school, but I can’t remember a whole lot. Do I need to bring in a mat and towel?” I asked just to be sure the website wasn’t lying to me.

“ Yes! A mat and towel and you’ll grab some blocks when you walk in.” What the heck were blocks? Looking for some reaffirmation as to the level I chose, I asked, “Ok, and is this a good class to go to as a beginner?”

“Yes!” She looked down at her computer screen, “Looking at the four other students coming this morning, they could use a little extra work with some of the moves. We will take it slow. I’ll walk around and keep an eye on you!” Her smile definitely eased my nerves for what was about to take place.

I walked into the lounge and began to take off my jacket, still questioning whether or not I should keep my sneakers on or not. Soon a scruffy bearded man walked in with his hair tied back. He took off his shoes and went into the dressing room. Next a larger shorter woman came in wearing short leggings and an athletic t-shirt. She took her shoes off and left the room with her mat and towel in hand. Ok, two people wearing no shoes; guess its time to reveal my non-matching socks. Next an older looking woman came in wearing a very athletic tank top and short leggings. You could hear her talking to the woman who had checked me in. She had a confident laugh and was clearly a regular here, especially with this specific instructor. Finally, a young man came, probably in his late 20s wearing simple shorts and a t-shirt. He stored his stuff in one of the cubbies and went out into the hall. I was the only one left in the lounge and was scrolling through my phone to avoid any sort of eye contact to give away the fact that I was a newbie. When I looked up to see if anyone else was going to walk in, I saw a large sign that read No Phones. It’s time to find your Zen. I hadn’t even said anything to anyone and my cover was blown from my cellphone usage. I walked into the hall with my stained mat, towel, and water bottle, wearing nothing on my feet but socks. As we stood in the hallway waiting for the other class to be over, I tried to think of all the things that could potentially go wrong in this class.

• I’m probably going to pass out from the heat.
• I could break my leg or arms.
• I could accidentally kick someone in the face.
• I might even start crying because of moves might be more than I can handle.
• I won’t modify the moves because I’m too competitive.

We walked into the room and immediately I felt the heat soak into my goose bumped skin. I followed everyone inside and chose a spot in front of the larger woman and placed my mat so it was facing the direction of the window. The walls were painted orange and had lights lining the walls. There were string lights along the front of the room, giving it a homey feel. As we set up, I saw everyone go over to a large shelf filled with small blue foam boxes. I followed suit and grabbed two of them, carefully walking over everyone’s mats.

Soon our instructor came into the room, turned on a few more lights and some typical “yoga music” and said “Ah did everyone see that lovely sky this morning? I love when days start off like that, it just eases the whole day. Hi everyone I’m Laura and I’ll be teaching this session of Mighty Flow.” Her voice was slow and calm, making the room feel more and more relaxed after each word she spoke.

“Ok so I want everyone to sit cross legged and start focusing on your breathing. I want you to start thinking about what it is that you want to get out of this class. Whether this is the first time here or your millionth time here, think about what you want to do. Is it to improve your Yoga moves? Or to clear your mind? Think about what it is. Take deep breathes, focusing on the inhale and exhale.” Wow this is deep, I thought as I began to enter a very calm thinking zone. Each time she paused in between her sentences, I focused more and more on why I was there. This pose would be our “center” and we would go back to it frequently throughout the session after finishing a set of poses.

Next she had us go through a series of poses that involved a pose called downward dog, where your hands and feet would be placed flat on the ground with your butt straight up in the air. Throughout the class, I felt my eyes constantly shifting over to the very experienced woman who had her mat to the left of me. Because some of the poses were a bit confusing, she was my guide for reassurance. My competitive nature came out when I saw her reach her arm up in the air with a slight bend in her elbow during the warrior II pose. I can reach higher than that, psh she thinks she’s all that. Of course Yoga Karma would come back to me during the side planks and the upward facing dog when a lot of my weight had to be put on my ex-broken wrist from this past summer. I could feel my whole hand shake as we went up on one side with just our toes touching the ground. I thought my strength had come completely back, but alas it had not and I had to drop to my elbow to hold the poses.

Laura definitely kept a close eye on me as we went through the session, occasionally placing her gentle hands on my leg or arm where it needed adjustment to get the pose right. I hadn’t realized how much Yoga relied on your breathing and how important it was to focus on the inhale and the exhale during each pose. I often find myself thinking about 1,000 other things when I am working out, instead of the actual physical task I am working at. But during Yoga, all I did was focus on the way my body was positioned and focused and each and every breath, making sure the inhale gathered up air all the way from my toes, and the exhale released it all until I could feel my lungs almost collapse. To feel so focused on one thing and one thing only was an incredible feeling (after I started to minimize my competiveness). I could feel my muscles relax and have never felt so lose in my entire life. I could feel my breathing get more and more deep and more and more connected with the poses we were doing. Each pose relies on the inhale and the exhale in order to get the move right. I learned this quickly when we were in the middle of doing a pose where one of our knees was upward while the other one lay flat on the ground. We tucked our right elbow around the upper knee and twisted our backs which felt, as Laura put it, “like your organs were being all jumbled up inside”. Here, it was key to keep breathing in and out; otherwise you wouldn’t feel the pose correctly and would be a waste of a move. I zoned out at first on this move because I got distracted when Laura said, “this movement helps with digestive cleansing and is a great internal muscle relaxer.” That would be awesome if I could have a stomach cleanse from simply doing Yoga! I quickly got roped up in a few thoughts about past tea cleanses and foods I had tried to “detox” the internals after abroad life. “Remember to breathe, focus on the inhale and then twist up during the exhale” Laura reminded us again. I quickly snapped back in after that.

I knew the class would be over soon when Laura brought us back to center and had us lie down during what many call the “nap phase” of Yoga. Out of all the moves I could have remembered from that one class I took back in high school, the nap phase would be the one I would remember the most. We lay there as Laura said a lot of soothing words, none of which I can remember because I was already in such a deep trance of nothing. I was thinking of literally nothing. I didn’t even know thinking of nothing was even possible. Even if it was only for a minute or two, my mind had stopped completely. I wasn’t even focusing on my breathing anymore; it was just happening. It was almost as if someone had brought in a breathing machine, hooked it up to my cracked lips and turned it on to help me breathe during this time. I wasn’t asleep, I was just in a nothing zone. Somewhere where I haven’t been close to in quite sometime. There were no thoughts of my life after graduation, there were no thoughts about my struggling capstone class, and no thoughts about what I was going to do next semester. Just nothing.

As the class came to a close, Laura had us come back to our center, this time with our hands in a prayer position. “Let us hear the vibrations of our voices” and she let out a long “hmm” sound and everyone did the same. We said “hmm” until our voices ran out and Laura said, “As we go out into the world today, take what you wanted to get out of this class and spread it throughout your day. Today is a wonderful day to go out and be in your Zen. Namaste.”

As I packed up my belongings and put back my blocks, acting like a natural at this point, I said to Laura, “Thank you so much for today. I had a really really nice time.”
“I’m so glad you liked it! What do you mean you’ve haven’t done Yoga in a long time!? You did great. It’s like riding a bicycle!” she smiled at me and I knew I had made the right choice to go back to Yoga. I had made the right choice because I made it myself and didn’t need others to help me or come with me to support me. I supported myself. I supported each and every move I made and each and every breath I took. I walked outside and felt the warm breeze of a late October morning touch my warm Yoga skin. Every bone, nerve, muscle, and joint felt incredibly lose and happy to feel so free. The rest of the day I felt the relaxing vibes and began to have an outlook on my day that I hadn’t approached in a long time; the outlook of positivity and contentment.

(Header photo from www.barefootsanctuary.com)