Yoga Day Three

My first yoga class! I woke up early for a 7:30 am class (did I mention I am not a morning person?). This was the first day of the unlimited two-week pass I purchased at Purple Yoga. I wasn't sure what to expect... here are a few thoughts on the experience:

• I love it! 
• I am thankful that I had learned a few poses at home first. That helped me transition to the class setting, but there were still a number of poses I had never done before. 
• The instructor, Siri Högfeldt-Delaney, was very helpful. She adjusted a few of my poses, and I appreciated the guidance. 
• I liked Siri's balanced approach to the yoga. Calm, encouraging instruction from pose to pose, with reminders about breathing and focus. 
• I brought a mat and a small towel. Next time, I'll need a large towel to cover the whole mat. Without the towel, my hands slipped. 
• There was a blend of experienced students and new ones, like me. I appreciated the experienced students, so I could learn from their poses. 
• It was super challenging! Some of the poses I handled easily, but most required me to truly focus. 
• I was shaking through some poses, trying to balance and build by strength.
• Some pose series had me dripping in sweat - I didn't expect that but loved it.
• I was definitely present in the moment.
• At one time, one of my favorite songs came on during one of our sustained stretching poses (pigeon something, I think), and I had tears in my eyes. Overcome with emotion, and knowing I was in the right place in my life. I expected yoga to touch on this spiritual understanding, but I didn't imagine it would come to me in my first class.

I have a lot to learn, but I loved this morning's session. It pushed me physically and mentally cleared my mind. What more could a girl want from a yoga class?

"Yoga is a technology for arriving in this present moment" - Farhi