Practicing Yoga.

I went to my first yoga class the morning I was to meet my parents to shop for my wedding dress.  The class was at 6 am, and I was to meet them in a town an hour away at 9. I wasn't sure what to expect out of our marathon shopping day ahead, but I knew I was going to need energy, and I wanted a quick tone up as well. 

Now, I am NOT a morning person. I will take any and every opportunity I can to sleep in, including hitting the snooze button as many times as I can possibly fit in without being late. (I'm usually late because of this!) On this morning, though, I was looking forward to a new class, a new experience. It was July, and the yoga studio was on the second floor of an gym with NO AIR CONDITIONING. At 6 am the room was already in the 90s. Nevertheless, I rolled out the mat in the back of the class, hoping to go unnoticed as I followed along with the more experienced members. Of course, it's rather difficult to go unnoticed in a class of six. The teacher was quite kind, making sure to show me modified moves so I could learn without straining myself, and even then, I got a great workout, much better than if I'd been on my own.

I stuck with the class through the summer, and partway into the fall, but when school started, as well as my job, I dropped out. I missed it, but I purchased my own mat and a book to work from and have been practicing yoga on my own ever since. I mostly stick to moves I learned in that class, as I don't want to injure myself trying something new with no supervision, (NOT a good idea, folks!) and I do enjoy myself, but, frankly, it gets a bit boring.

That's where yogajournal.com comes in. They offer 20 minute online 'classes', which show you new moves, and walk you through them slowly so that you're not in any danger of hurting yourself. I took my first class today, and, let me tell you, I got a workout! I did the abs & core routine, because now that I'm out of school, I don't have all the singing to keep them in shape! I didn't have all of the needed supplies (I need to buy some yoga blocks...) but I followed along anyway and improvised where I couldn't be exact. I had fun, and I will definitely be going back for more!