Namaste
I just returned from my first yoga class. I am so beat! It was a good workout. And also very calming.
For those who have asked, this is a beginner's yoga class with both hatha and raja yoga. We are learning the basic asanas and also doing meditation in each class. The class is generally scheduled for an hour and twenty minutes, but tonight it was closer to two hours. There were about 15 people there, both men and women, all ages, in a big studio with nice big windows. The sun went down while we were in class and the room got dimmer and dimmer until it was just down to candlelight.
I have to admit I was a little surprised that we did surya namaskara (salute to the sun) in our first beginner yoga class. And it goes much faster than I imagined! But maybe that's normal, to do it on the first day and to do it so fast. But I was flailing around like a fish on land. Well, a very big fish with arms and legs and floppy boobs.
I was the heaviest person in the class, I think. Before I went I kept having these irrational fears that the teacher would take me aside and tell me I was too fat to do yoga. But no, I just did it like everyone else did. Well, some of them may have done it more capably than I did, but I did it. I had heard that you focus on yourself in yoga rather than on what other people are doing, and it really seemed to be true tonight. At least for me. I was trying so hard to get the poses right that I didn't even notice what anyone else was up to.
The teacher gave us a whole sheet of homework exercises to do daily, and I have a yoga DVD that I borrowed from Amanda, so maybe I will practice before I go to my next class. Even so, I think it'll be awhile before I can get that sun salute up to full speed (or anything even approximating the proper poses).
Still, I liked it. I'm looking forward to going back.
I just returned from my first yoga class. I am so beat! It was a good workout. And also very calming.
For those who have asked, this is a beginner's yoga class with both hatha and raja yoga. We are learning the basic asanas and also doing meditation in each class. The class is generally scheduled for an hour and twenty minutes, but tonight it was closer to two hours. There were about 15 people there, both men and women, all ages, in a big studio with nice big windows. The sun went down while we were in class and the room got dimmer and dimmer until it was just down to candlelight.
I have to admit I was a little surprised that we did surya namaskara (salute to the sun) in our first beginner yoga class. And it goes much faster than I imagined! But maybe that's normal, to do it on the first day and to do it so fast. But I was flailing around like a fish on land. Well, a very big fish with arms and legs and floppy boobs.
I was the heaviest person in the class, I think. Before I went I kept having these irrational fears that the teacher would take me aside and tell me I was too fat to do yoga. But no, I just did it like everyone else did. Well, some of them may have done it more capably than I did, but I did it. I had heard that you focus on yourself in yoga rather than on what other people are doing, and it really seemed to be true tonight. At least for me. I was trying so hard to get the poses right that I didn't even notice what anyone else was up to.
The teacher gave us a whole sheet of homework exercises to do daily, and I have a yoga DVD that I borrowed from Amanda, so maybe I will practice before I go to my next class. Even so, I think it'll be awhile before I can get that sun salute up to full speed (or anything even approximating the proper poses).
Still, I liked it. I'm looking forward to going back.
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