To brand new experiences

Today I went to my first ever yoga class.  I really wanted to be able to condition that sentence somehow: Today I went to my first ever yoga class in California.  Today I went to my first ever yoga class at this gym.  My first ever yoga class since college.  But nope, I thought it over and realized I’ve never taken an actual yoga class, much as Kaitlin and I discussed going to one in New York City.  It’s not surprising I never went to one in Davis, given my one single failure of an appearance at an ARC class: a pilates class targeting legs, abs, and butt (that is over half of your body; is it wise to target all of it at once?).  I don’t remember how Erin and Paige fared, but I remember aching for days.  For days, I tell you.  It hurt to laugh.  I remember Liz and I were taking Kerry Hanlon’s class at the time, and I remember saving her a left-handed desk and concurrently being in pain.

Well, pilates for over-half-of-your-body is not the same thing as yoga, and I thought I would be okay.  I have become something of a yoga master on Wii Fit yoga, which I believed would count for something.  Then I arrived at the gym.  And saw all the people lining up with rolled up mats under their arms.  But I am good-natured, so I asked Teresa (who works there, who has become something of my friend/acquaintance, against all odds) if I was supposed to bring a mat.  She said no and pointed towards the room where the mats were (there was still a kickboxing class finishing up) and I laughed it off, joking that I was intimidated.  But I was kidding.  But I made a little mental note to buy self yoga mat.

When the kickboxing class finished up, I headed straight inside to the back of the room where I could watch other people.  I have heard you’re supposed to tell the instructor you’re a beginner, but I couldn’t figure out who the instructor was until she had started instructing.  And I’m pretty sure she figured out my beginner status right away.

It was pretty cool, over all, except that it’s hard to go all Zen and relaxed when you’re alternating between a) surreptitious glances around to see what “backwards swan dive” looks like, and b) giggling at the pose names.  Near the beginning we did a series of sun salutations, which I remember doing in Sheldon’s acting class, and I remember liking the repetition and the way it all flows.  I bet it would have been a lot more fun if I didn’t spend the first 2 1/2 salutations remembering what flows into what.  The last 1/2 was pretty fun.

When the instructor started walking around and touching people I freaked a little bit, but she seemed to focus on the students she already knew, which was reassuring.

Then a bunch of them did Bird of Paradise, which looks amazing but was absolutely not happening with me.  Luckily only about a third of the people in the room could do it, so the rest of us stood around and pretended to be “lengthening” while we really just watched them enviously.

Halfway through the guy next to me rolled up his mat and left, although I guess it was his third class in a row today, so mine is a shallow victory.

Also, while doing tree pose, while I was thinking, Yes! I know this from Wii Fit! I can totally do this!, it turns out my foot is resting too close to my knee, which the instructor didn’t like.  She didn’t say anything to me directly, she just kept saying, “Everyone, please keep your foot away from your knee, it’s bad to rest on the knee,” until I finally moved my foot down.  So I’m pretty sure she was talking to me.  Tree pose is no fun when your foot is on your calf.  So now I have something to work towards, I guess.

We finished up in corpse pose, which is the funniest one, right?  Because you’re just lying there.  Then she kind of whispered into her microphone to stay there as long as our bodies could (me: “Um, I can lie down a long time, like for hours even”) and then she thanked us, and then she thanked our bodies for being there tonight, and then she whispered “Namaste.”  And then I waited until I heard at least 3 other people get up before I got up.

It was interesting, and I would like to go again.  Actually I would like to try a class with the other instructor to see if I like her style more.  I don’t feel the way I feel after a regular workout, but I don’t think that’s necessarily good or bad.  To new experiences!