Let me share yesterday’s yoga fail.
Yoga is a fantastic way to exercise your body and your mind. My first yoga class was probably ten years ago, an adult ed class at one of the local schools. We were blessed with fantastic instructor, Debbie, and her friend who was studying to become an instructor. She ran us through some basic poses, focusing on form. It was love at first sight.
Probably a direct result of spending many years in elementary and middle school doing gymnastics, I am blessed a decent amount of flexibility. My paternal grandmother’s morning exrecise (yes, I meant to misspell it… as she described the morning routine) routine was a role model I’ve tried to live up to. So that routine most mornings doesn’t hurt. Yoga is a good exercise fit for me.
Because the only thing that I’ve stuck to for more that five years consecutively is my wonderful husband, I flit in and out of my relationship with yoga as it’s needed and fits my life.
One thing has remain constant, I love yoga. The slow, easy classes and the hot bikram 90-minute torture. It’s a gift and while it’s not always fun during, the reward (like running) is after the finish.
It was probably a weird day, or just a class/style of yoga that didn’t work for me. I’m not exactly sure. I returned to yoga again after a couple year absence about a month ago. Like any new place, it’s time to get to know the instructors and their classes. Because I have some lower back problems, my goal has been to resume my knowledge of the poses so I don’t hurt myself and take the most from my hour or so investment. I find myself silently singing “Getting to Know You…” 🙂
Yesterday the morning started great, excited about the 9am class, I headed out. It was a warm, sunny day. Oozing positive energy and all that…
The instructor is probably a great instructor. About 20 minutes in, I just had to leave. I couldn’t follow her class, and just didn’t want to. It frustrated me for many different reasons. Maybe because I’ve done that particular class with other instructors and found it to be an amazing workout. Maybe because I’m not as strong as I’d like to be. Maybe because I’m still trying to remember the correct positioning to not hurt my back. Maybe because there weren’t enough people in the class to follow well. Maybe because the instructor wasn’t explaining(but she did take the time to explain portions). Maybe because the sequence that probably is her norm, hurt my back yesterday.
I packed up and left. Yup, right in the middle of class. I did it quietly and didn’t feel bad about doing it.
In other times, I would have sat for a while and gotten back to it. But my back hurt and my head wasn’t in the right place and it was a beautiful, busy day. By the time that the instructor saw that I was having an issue, it had been going on for too long. I was frustrated and didn’t want to hold the rest of the class back. So I left and headed out to get my valve stem replaced (which was a very positive experience, thankfully).
Why? Why did I leave? A while ago, I made a choice that life is short and there are some things worth the frustration, a few that you have little choice and the rest you DO. I love yoga and want to continue to love yoga. Maybe it wasn’t the right day, maybe not the right class? The best option of the available was to just move on, so I did.
Sometimes you try things that don’t quite work out, at least you tried. Some things it’s important to stick with, to work to the other side of frustration… this wasn’t one of those class of life things.
Yesterday was a yoga fail. No big deal… on to the next thing!