Namaste Y'all: Yoga--Physical and Mental workout

Groupon sent out a fabulous deal a few weeks back for Hart Yoga in Frisco (Lisa Hart from Buns of Steel!). I couldn't pass up 12 sessions for $45 even if I knew that once those 12 were spent I could never afford a monthly membership. I just jumped in hoping I would love it so much I could convince myself to give up other things like putting gas in my car and eating.

PHOTO SOURCE

Class 1: 75 minutes spent thinking to myself that it was crazy how much sweating I was doing and that I was a tad bit proud of myself for not giving up. The instructor, Tara, was fabulously supportive at the end of class telling me she was impressed with me and bragging on my form. Another Yogi commented on my gracefulness. I was so thrilled to be bragged on that it didn't sink in that that little white lie I tell myself everyday that people are too engrossed in their own appearance to pay attention to yours is probably not for real.

Class 2: Started crying in my class tonight. I was melting into the floor trying to catch my breath and only gulping down the steamy exhales of the other 40 participants when this thought crashed into my frontal lobe: "What have you done to yourself? I cannot believe you have let yourself get this bad." I started crying and couldn't stop...had to step out of the room because it was that ugly sobbing cry. The instructor from my first class was a participant in this class and encouraged me to write down what it was that triggered the crying. She said, "Yoga is a mental exercise as much as a physical." After I recovered and rejoined the class, I found my laughter not 10 minutes later. While using my towel to pull my knees into my chest for an inversion, I accidentally towel snapped the sweet lady beside me when the towel slipped from one of my hands. She was in a full inverted something (both legs together and folded over your upper body with your toes touching the floor right above your head while your arms hang loose down by your buttocks). I wanted to sink into the floor and be eaten up by the beasts of hell for a split second until she started laughing while still holding her pose. I just kept saying I am so very sorry. She just kept giggling. Mental note...towel snap the person next to you the next time you think you're about to start crying.

Class 3: I absolutely love Tara's classes! She is supportive, instructive and encouraging. She informed me that the second class I had taken yesterday was an advanced class and that I should be proud of myself. Maybe the calendar should be labeled by level too. Hubby Dearest and Darling Daughter are way competitive supportive and wanted me to show them a few poses. Remarkably, HD is quite adept at yoga and has never participated in the practice. DD is surprisingly inflexible. I think I will start getting them both to practice with me to help them with their hockey games.

I am a louse...fell off the yoga wagon while I was at Girl Scout camp and am just now getting my energy back...I am hitching a ride tonight! If you have never tried yoga, find a studio and tell them you're a newbie. See if they won't bend over backwards (get it? ;-) to show you all about it!