Yoga Adventure

The other day, something came over me. I needed to take a yoga class. I am not normally the one to jump up for a yoga class, I’d much rather just stretch on a mat, but something was telling me that is what I was needing at the time. When I first went in, I did not know what to expect, my only real experience with yoga was with our outdoor yoga instructor Ashleigh, who I may add, did a phenomenal job teaching Valley Forge Fitness yoga last year (Thanks Ash! Can't wait till spring!). The environment is totally different so I was not sure I would get the same “oneness with the universe” so to speak. After a light stretch we proceeded in a progression of stretches, binds and twists that had me feeling quite limber. There were of course some in the beginning that I didn’t even attempt for fear that I would not be able to get back out of the pose in one piece. I found myself becoming more confident with each pose and feeling my body release tightness and tension. Not bad for my first indoor yoga class. I left feeling renewed and refreshed and the effects lasted not only through the next day, but weeks at a time. When I left that yoga class I had realized something that I hadn’t realized when I was more active. Sometimes we go through the motions, but if you consciously stretch each muscle you can get more in tuned with what our body is trying to tell us. It is easy to muscle and power through the stretches, but if you are conscious of what each stretch is supposed to do, it feels so much better and you subsequently become even more relaxed. I have not studied yoga, but now I know it is more than just stretching. Its an internal journey. Indescribable by word and only properly expressed through movement. I can‘t wait for our yoga classes to start back up in the spring. I can feel my chakras aligning for some interesting experiences. Forge On!