Bad Dog?

Impulsiveness has gotten me into some not so great situations but other times I benefit from it. Yesterday it actually did me a lot of good. Coming back from a three day weekend out of town my friend called and asked if I wanted to try a yoga class at 5:00 pm. It was 3:00pm and I was pretty close to home. I quickly said yes since I had eaten badly all weekend. I didn't consider that lack of sleep and being bloated from eating out for three days might just not mix with a new exercise class. I just said yes impulsively. Almost as soon as I hung up with her we ran into road construction. I didn't want to call her back and cancel after I already said yes. It took a half an hour longer to drive home than I expected. I had time to run inside change clothes and drive to the gym with less than five minutes to spare before the class started.

The first thing I noticed was that everyone else had a cute little yoga mat. Sigh. I grabbed one of the used to be squishy exercise mats that people have been sweating on for years and tried not to gag. While I wasn't exactly out of place the second thing I noticed was that there is a yoga type style of clothing that everyone wore. Not quite the same as the sweats and t shirt I threw on. I doubt anyone noticed or cared that I was wearing my favorite Incredible Hulk t shirt but it was incongruous with the meditative groove I was trying to get going on. The third thing I noticed was that I was the largest person there. It didn't make me feel self conscious but it made me wonder why there were no other chunky gals there. Then we started and I immediately realized why there were no chunky people there. Yoga is hard. The slowness and gracefulness of it hides how stinking difficult those poses are. When I say graceful I am of course referring to the other people because I felt about as graceful as a cement mixer on prom night.

I wasn't familiar with the poses such as cobra and child pose. I had to crane my neck and watch the instructor who by the way seemed to be made of different material than I. She could bend and twist easier than over cooked pasta.

Despite its difficulty the class time went by fast. When it was over I asked the instructor about a pose that I can neither spell nor pronounce and she happily showed me how to do it. After class I felt good. Relaxed. I was sweaty but not like I just took an aerobics class. This morning I swear I feel taller. The next class is Thursday and I plan on taking it. First though I will leave my Hulk shirt and home and stop by the store and get a yoga mat and some yoga type clothes. In the meantime I will practice my chair pose and downward dog.