Let's Talk Yoga

Hey everybody, just a couple of quick bits before I get to today's post. The next couple of weeks are going to be pretty sparse thanks to assignment-overload before finals, so that's one forewarning on there. Also, I usually post on Sundays and Tuesdays. With schedule's changing for exams and heading back home for break, those times are in a bit of flux. I'm going to be stopping the Sunday SOTU posts, but will still be posting twice a week. The SOTU posts were way more involved than I had expected them to be. I'll eventually make my way back to writing them, but I think it's for the best right now. I'm aiming for regular blog posts on Tuesday and Friday mornings, trying those days on for size. It's really just to make it all a bit easier for me. Moving on though, back to your regularly scheduled post! 

Three years ago, if you had told me that I would be meditating almost daily and doing yoga 2-3 times a week, I would have called you crazy. I used to be super anti-yoga. I thought it was just a trendy fad for rich middle-aged women. You know, the ones who always go yoga and plates just for the hot-as-all-heck teachers. In my mind, yoga was a waste of time.

Two and a half years ago, I nearly broke my shoulder at a riding lesson. It had been partially dislocated, rolled back into place, and then used for the rest of the ride. After visiting everybody's favorite place, the local ER, I was given a sling for a few weeks. Months later, I was still having regular pain in my shoulders with use and changing weather. I should have gone to get the MRI like the doctor said. Instead, I just kept working through the pain.

A year and a half ago, I was unable to do certain workouts because of the stabbing pains in my shoulders. Any arm workout was out the window. Even longer runs made it ache for days. I knew it was time for me to do something about it.

That same summer, I was invited to a yoga class by a friend. Little did I know, it was an advanced hot yoga class. And it was probably the longest flipping hour of my life. I hated it at first. I was sweaty, challenged, frustrated, and about 10 minutes in Down Dog, my arm felt like it was about to fall off. But I persevered through the class, and the next 40 minutes flew by. The rest of the class was doing more advanced twists and inversions, as the competitive soul I am, I certainly wasn't going to be left behind! In that first class, I learned how to communicate with my body, I was learning to better control muscles that I didn't even know I had. By the final stretches at the end of the class, I was doing things I hadn't done since middle school, most exceptionally touching my toes. It was a big deal for me. As the class was winding down, we moved into a meditation for ten minutes. I couldn't have rolled my eyes up into my head any further. I was a strong believer that meditation was a complete waste of time. But, having paid for the class, I was going to make the most of that. It wasn't a difficult meditation, just Savasana, corpse pose. As we lay there, I became vividly aware of the sweat covering every inch of me. All of the sudden, I was absolutely dying. Then out of seemingly nowhere, a cool wet cloth appeared on my face. Not expecting it, I nearly jumped out of my skin. It felt great as the room slowly cooled down, being the last class of the night.

The next day, I was in pain pretty much everywhere. All those muscles I was using? Oh yeah, definitely felt all of those the next day. But I was hooked. From then on I've tried to do yoga whenever I could. Classes in DC are pretty pricey, so my go to is Brett Larkin's free classes on YouTube. I aim for 1-3 classes per week, usually two classes every Wednesday morning, one of which ends with some sort of meditation.

Now that I'm doing yoga more often though, I've been dying to get some new yoga gear, from mats to pants and everything in between.

Yoga Post! by m-personally featuring scented candles

I ventured onto Polyvore to out my wishlist all in one image. The Manduka Flux legging is a personal favorite of the whole list, I love the ribbons at the bottom! The Cancer muscle tee from Confused Girl in the City is great because 1) its cute, 2) I can wear it for anything, not just working out, and 3) it totally indulges my secret love for astrology. The weird bean-shaped thing is a meditation cushion from Gaiam. I really want to try to meditate more often, and this cushion really serves a double purpose. My yoga mat is super thick, so it's comfortable for yoga on pretty much every surface. But for meditation, I like to have a little extra cushion. I've tried sitting on a towel, but that doesn't cut it. A cushion is just a little bit of extra comfort for meditation! The crescent shape is also really great, helps adjust my seat, that way my knees are sort of below my hips when I sit Indian style.

Speaking of which, the room is empty, so I've got to get my yoga in for today! Until next time,

Writing to you from M, Personally
Namaste!
brett