Yoga. Big girl. Concrete walls that are conducive to echoing. My fear...that I would fart in downward facing dog.
I didn't fart...but I wanted to!
Okay, so Tracey and I went to our first yoga class. First, Tracey was going just to be nice. And he is a pretty southern man. For example, he went to yoga wearing a shirt that had a picture of a dog eating a motorcycle...or something along those lines. The point that I am trying to make is, he doesn't look like the yoga type, but he was being a good sport.
I actually had a mat that I bought years ago when I tried yoga via a dvd. Needless to say, the mat was in almost new condition. Now, this isnt yoga at the Y, this is a little yoga studio, taught by a wonderful lady I will call Mother Earth. She had a gentle voice and spoke about sunshine and breathing. I want to carry her around with me so she can brush my hair when I am feeling blue.
Anyways, we got all of our other equipment. This includes a blanket, a bolster (long pillow) and a square block...oh...and a long belt thing. I had googled yoga etiquette before going, so I knew a few things to expect. I focused on myself. It's not a competition.
Did I suffer fat girl embarrassment? Well, not really. There was a point towards the beginning, when we were laying on our backs, knees up to the chest, and we were supposed to be hugging our knees. Kinda hard with a big belly. So Mother Earth had me use the long belt to wrap around my knees. But, I learned she walked around and helped everyone...even the little pixie student instructor.
I have always danced, and try to maintain my flexibility bc stretching has always been something I enjoyed, but in one certain position, Mother Earth told me "Gooood, you are very flexible". That made my third eye smile.
Because it was a beginners class, there were many modifications I had to make to the poses. But that's okay. I will learn. There is this one position where you lunge, put your one hand behind your back, one hand under your crotch, and you clasp your hands together. I tried my best to google a picture for you guys...I may just have Tracey demonstrate and I will take a picture. Anyways, there is no way I could make it with the size of my butt. There were some positions that I thought my arms were going to give out.
Yoga is different than anything I have done. Its not about pumping it up, sweating the most, competing with others. Its about centering yourself, listening to your body, stretching. I left feeling very peaceful.
If only Mother Earth could have come home with us for dinner.
Maybe next time.
Friday, March 13, 2009
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I love the way you write -the line about carrying Mother Earth around to brush your hair... priceless! xx
ReplyDeleteI used to have a friend who dated a plus sized yoga instructor. I always ended up with my mouth gaping wide open because here was this big woman (she was 5'11" in addition to probably being at least 275 pounds - but I'm bad at judging weight, she might have been more from muscle or something) do these crazy yoga positions.
ReplyDeleteI found her years after I first met her. She was no longer dating my friend, but she was teaching a plus sized yoga class and DAMN... did she really make me sweat. All the women who were her regulars were solid fat. I've always been jiggly fat. You could have slapped the skin any place on Rebecca and her skin probably would have stayed as solid as a brick wall.
I'm smart enough to know that you can WANT someone else's body or build as much as you want, but she taught me one good lesson: go for having the best body that YOUR body can give to you. Don't waste time thinking you're going to look like Jennifer Aniston if you're pear shaped. Aniston is NOT that shape. Just breathe, stretch, relax and enjoy your body. Here's to hoping I get to do at least one more out of those 4.