Be One W/ The Mat

This is a picture of me. I went to yoga for the first time today and am now a super sculpted, Buddha-loving free spirit. Just kidding. About everything except my lack of yoga experience. This all came about because a center near Benita offers free classes when you show your OTC ID, so one of the Archery athletes and my roommate, both super yoginis, convinced me to join them for a session this evening. I prepped on the way, flipping through a Yogo for Beginners magazine, but wasn't expecting to like it very much. Flexibility is not my forte.

The room was hot. Apparently this is because muscles stretch better when they're warm, so they keep the room at 150 degrees. I have never sweated so much in my life. Like buckets, down my forehead. After only 5 minutes.

Our guru was this New-Age, long haired, ripped, California boy who kept telling us to "Bear Hug" and "Chaturanga." Then he expected me to balance on one foot, squating, while holding my big toe stretched out in front of me. I liked the breathing part better.

But I think my favorite part was at the end when he shut off all the lights and put on this cheezy, elevator music that might have passed for romantic background music back in the 80's. We were supposed to be centering ourselves, concentrating on "losing ourself in the moment of the breath." Basically an invitation for a 10 minute nap. So great.

Overall, I enjoyed myself though. It's really rewarding to try something new and find you're actually not too shabby. After the intense poses, which worked the entire body, the nap time did really help to relax after a long day at work. And since I didn't make a complete fool of myself or barf all over the floor, I consider this yoga outing to be a success.