Yoga is hard...

About 2 months ago I decided to try out the "Gentle yoga" class that's held on Friday mornings at my gym.  After 4 days of hardcore workouts, it's nice and relaxing.  I was really nervous my first class but quickly grew to love it...and my teacher is amazing.  (It didn't hurt that she recognized me from the daycare.  She used to work in there and knows Emma...and so she commented on my weight loss over the time I've been going to the gym there.  So that won her big brownie points haha)

Gentle yoga, I noticed, is mostly filled with older ladies, bigger ladies (like myself) and the occasional hardcore girl (and a few guys) who just want a good stretching after working out all week.  Most of them seem to be on my same level in yoga as far as flexibility and strength, so I've never felt out of place there.  For the most part, it's an easy, relaxing class...with the occasional core work thrown in there.  And who doesn't like spending the last 5 minutes in shavasana (You lie flat on your back with your palms up and eyes closed while the teacher rubs oils into everyone's temples.  It's SO nice).  I never understood why my sister Tiffany is always saying how tough her yoga class is!  Then I found out why.

Well as summer starts, Denise (my teacher), begins doing a "yoga under the stars" class on Wednesdays which is 90 mins long and held late at night out on the pool deck outside.  I decided last week to try it...and convinced Nathan to come with me.  We got set up on the pool deck amidst all these itty bitty skinny girls (I'm not even slightly overexaggerating here) and then the wind kicked up and the temp dropped so we all went back into the studio.  And then we were thrown into yoga hell.

In gentle yoga, we spend the first 5 mins...at least...in a seated position, just controlling our breathing.  Nope...not in this class.  From the first 30 seconds we were on our hands and knees and quickly thrust into downward dog (basically you're on your hands and feet, pushing your ass into the air)...WHICH I HATE.  I have no problem saying that this is my least favorite position ever.  It hurts my palms and my wrists if I have to hold it for more than 15 seconds and it very quickly causes me to start sweating all over my mat.  Did I mention, this class was 90 minutes long?  Man.  I won't even try to name all the positions and balances we did or try to remember how long we held each one...but I was SOAKED in sweat.

For the most part I was able to keep up and I definitely didn't quit.  Although when she expected us to balance on JUST our hands, with our elbows pressed into our hips...I sat and watched lol.  I may have lost 94 lbs, but it's still not quite enough to avoid a face plant were I to try holding all my weight up that way.

After an hour of brutal leg and arm work, she had us sit back down.  "YAY!" I thought to myself.  No...not yay.  That's when the core work started.  My stomach is the weakest part of my body.  That and my arms.  And this wonderful lady, whom I adore, wanted me to sit in a V (hands and legs up in the air with just my butt on the floor)...and then drop my legs one at a time.  HAAAAA.  I think I actually laughed outloud when she said it.  Nathan wasn't thrilled with it either.  It didn't help that the girls next to us on both sides...were doing this in perfect form without breaking a sweat.  I think one of them was a ballet dancer.  But we tried it. My whole body shook like a leaf...convulsing with every movement of every muscle...but I think I managed the gist of the thing anyway.

Yoga is hard.  Don't ever let anyone tell you differently.  As much as I hated every second of it...I loved it.  I was sore all the next day and trying to shampoo my hair after all that downward dog was NOT easy.  But I loved it.  I don't know that I'll ever get Nathan there again, but I'll definitely be going again next week. (Maybe I can convince my mom to come while she's here? Maybe?)

I went back to my gentle yoga class on Friday and Denise came up to me afterwards asking me how I was.  She told me that she was so worried that I'd hate her after the Wednesday class because she knew I was used to the easier version.  I told her it was extremely tough and that I blamed her for my soreness...but that I'd be back.  Maybe one day I'll even be able to balance my entire body weight on my hands.  Maybe.