for the love of yoga

 

I�ve always wanted to be a yogi, you know the type I mean, long toned limbs, hair that falls in natural loose waves, a golden tan from mornings spent on Balinese beaches doing inversions and balances in their colour co-ordinated crop tops and leggings.

I�m never going to be that person, my limbs are all too chunky, my hair is too straight, I spend my days in cloudy Cumbria and my lycra never matches.  But, a girl can dream, and in the last 3 months I�ve really started to dedicate some time to yoga, and who knows, maybe one day I�ll be doing it on a beach somewhere.

Over the years of dabbled, I�ve always been a relatively flexible person, and every now and then, I�d find a local class, go along, and would leave feeling pretty smug as the teacher and commented on my bendiness.  I�d wake up the next day, barely able to walk, and would inevitably find excuses not to go back� it�s too expensive, it�s on a busy day of the week, I finished work too late, etc etc.  It�s not that I didn�t enjoy the class, but previously, I�ve never wanted to find the time to fit exercise into my week.

  

Since I started my fitness journey last year, things have changed quite a lot, and now it�s a priority in my life.  I wanted to get back to yoga and make it my routine.  So I joined the local studio (approximately 2 minutes from my office, so really no excuses) and signed up to their unlimited membership.  And do you know what? I am loving it! I try to get along 2 or 3 times a week, I�d like to go more, but I need to keep up my cardio fitness so have to make priorities.  I�ve actually started to plan my week around when the classes are, and I feel really disappointed if I can�t get there for a few days.

I�m not one for the meditative side of yoga, and don�t like to �om� and I�m not very good at getting my breathing inline with my movements. I go because I enjoy the flow, I like pushing my body (it�s surprisingly hard) and I�m enjoying seeing my flexibility come along.  But what I have been surprised by, is the relaxation of it.  Life for me is a little stressful at the moment, my dad is really ill, my work is a little rocky and I feel as though my weekends are booked from now until eternity.  Within 5 minutes of starting a yoga class I�ve forgotten all that, I really focus on what I�m doing, and Shavasana at the end? Well, on several occasions I�ve been pretty close to nodding off.

So it�s fair to say, I�m definitely not going to be finding excuses to avoid these classes anymore, in fact, I might even try and squeeze in some practices at home.  I�m never going to be the yogi I�d like to be (read this post about Steffy � my biggest yoga crush) but I can almost hold a headstand, my chunky limbs are getting leaner, there�s no hope for my hair, and as for a matching outfit, we�ll see�