Accidental Intermediate Yoga

I finally joined a yoga center! I've been talking for months about how great I think yoga would me for my weirdly tight legs, slouchy posture, tense shoulders, and overall strength and clear-headedness, but have seemed to be content with just talking about it rather than actually doing it.

But now, no more just talk! I have entered a new era of a healthier me! I am now a neti-potter, facial mask wearer, daily protein smoothie drinker, and yoga master.

Well, not quite. Yoga absolute beginner is more fitting, but it's very interesting how I can already feel the benefits. Even during the actual poses I can feel my body opening up and stretching out and relaxing a bit more. And afterwards I feel so rejuvenated, and so motivated to drink herbal tea and take vitamins. It's weird how doing yoga only twice so far has kicked me onto this healthy Becky path. But hey, I'm down!

So anyway, my first class was the other day and my second today, and I'm diggin' it. But today's class was definitely a much more uh, appropriate session for me and my current in-flexibility. I accidentally went to an intermediate level class for my first session, and wow. The teacher was really helpful and nice to me, but I spent a good portion of those speedy and difficult salutations chillin' out in my downward dog. At one point she came over and helped me into a different pose, and I then spent a good portion of the next round chillin' out in my new pose. I was able to keep up for the first hour, but then it just kicked into this fast, twisty, legs over necks and arms around backs stuff, and I almost laughed at loud at the idea of me attempting these poses. But then the final half hour was doing bends on the floor, and I learned that I can push my legs up in the air when laying on my back, and then roll them all the way behind me so that my shoulders are on the floor and my knees are also on the floor except beside my ears. My body was all twisted up and it felt very strange but quite nice, actually. Then I got embarrassed because I queafed and the teacher was near me, but she didn't seem to notice. And anyway, I think some of the moves are supposed to cause gas passing. Later on, once we rolled out of this pose and back into the just normal stuff, the teacher came over to me and said, "Good job, I'm impressed!" I had spoken to her prior to the class about how I've never really done yoga before (that's when I found out it was an intermediate class), but since there were no beginner classes that day, she let me stay. And she was really sweet about it, too. According to her, my body is "very open." But according to me, my body was very confused during those two hours.

But besides all that, I felt better for having stuck through it, and found my beginner's class today to be perfect. Much slower and much more instruction, and much less complicated. I really like it, and am excited about continuing. The center, Greenhouse Holistic Center, is really great, too. It has a strong community feel...everyone is really friendly and warm, and the teachers appreciative and happy to be teaching something they clearly love. There are also pilates and belly dancing classes (oh la la!), and a suana that I can use for free whenever. I am looking forward to getting all sweaty and gross, which apparently cleanses me and revitalizes my skin.

I'm finding all of this really, really fun. And I can't wait until intermediate is the perfect choice for me! It will be nice to casually curl my leg around my neck and put my arms straight above me. Perhaps I'll learn how to do it while also soaking in the suana, drinking some roobois and pouring the neti-pot through my nostrils. Then I will have obtained the ultimate in health.