To those who may be trying yoga for the first time. . .
I have heard from so many people that the first time they practiced yoga - they did all the poses in the class and the next day they were in so much physical pain that they never wanted to try another yoga class. This is sooooo disheartening for me! I love and appreciate the benefits of yoga so much that when I hear "I'll never do that again!", I truly don't know how to respond.

So, I have done some thinking in regards to why this may be the case. First, one aspect is our ego. We think we have to do every pose just the way the instructor is demonstrating. And if we don't somehow others will think less of us, and/or we won't get the instructors approval. What I have learned is that it honestly doesn't matter what other yogis think of me and how I perform the postures. Particularly because they don't go home in my body and live with results of my enormous ego, I do!

And as for the instructor, if they are a well trained yogi, they know that some people have to modify poses. Some people have knee injuries, neck injuries, some people are larger and can't perform stretches the same as smaller people, etc. Your instructor will know that you receive the same benefits with modifications that the rest of class gets by the full expression of the pose.

Another issue that I think beginner yogis face is that they may not be in tuned to their bodies yet. I believe that is part of why I injured my neck in January. For myself, I have spent so much time trying to disconnect from my body and act like it wasn't there. Or act like it was a separate entity from myself. It was extremely hard when I first started to listening to my body. If I pay attention, if I choose to feel the pain when I go into a certain pose, I will lessen my chance of injury.

The next problem that I have noticed in myself is that I want to be as good as the yoga instructor the week that I start practicing. This happens in all areas of my life, not just yoga. When I am able to accept that this is something I need to learn, I am gentler on myself. I don't get upset that I can't stay in poses as long as everyone else. I don't get upset when I have to use modifications. I am able to be a student which enables me to also see my progress. It was wonderful when I realized that my joints didn't feel as weak and painful. It was a blessing when I realized that I could bend a little deeper than before. It was actually quite freeing to know that I didn't have to be as good as the instructor when I first started my practice.

Finally, communication with your instructor can be extremely intimidating when you begin your practice. I learned from my neck injury that is important to listen to your body and be able to relay that to your instructor. If you are told to try a new pose and you don't feel you are ready, let your instructor know. Again this is your body and you are the one going home with it. Arrive to your class early, so that you can settle in and adjust your energy to focus on your practice. Arriving early also gives you the chance to speak to your instructor. Let him or her know if you have any previous injuries or areas of concern, like your knees, or lower back. When you do this, it gives your instructor the opportunity to let you know how you can modify poses to fit your needs. Chances are there is someone else in your class that will benefit from these suggestions as well. Open communication with your instructor is very beneficial for you, as well as, your instructor.

If you have been disappointed by your initial yoga experience, please try again. I did. I am so grateful that I could. Namaste.

The place where I have been practicing my yoga class is Free Akron Yoga. The link is below.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Akron-Yoga/340604425643#!/pages/Free-Akron-Yoga/340604425643?v=wall

Free Yoga for the people! Every Tuesday 7-8:30 pm, at First Grace UCC Church, West Akron. Remove the obstacles!

This is in Akron, OH. It is a wonderful Community Yoga class that was started to join everyone, seriously the goal is all of Akron, in peace, compassion, and love. Check it out!

Boycotting all things healthy!

I knew it might be a few days til I could post. So I wrote on Monday, Feb 1st at home the following:

I don't think I ever got out of my negative thinking funk! I skipped yoga class on Tuesday because I was boycotting anything that resembled healthy. And yoga is in the very healthy category. So, no yoga for me!

Thankfully, I was able to ask my friends and mentors for help. I was able to be honest about my boycott. Most importantly I was willing to do things differently. Wednesday night I recommitted to taking care of myself. Thursday was a pretty easy day. I was just grateful to not be feeling so disgusted with myself.

Friday was tougher. Work was stressful. I was eating dinner later than normal, and on top of that my head kept telling me that food was going to fix how I felt. But I had already committed to meeting my friends for dinner. I was able to talk about my day, laugh and connect with people.

Saturday was a wonderful soul food day! A few weeks ago when I was really excited about yoga, I had asked a friend if she would be willing to photograph me doing yoga poses. She is Lynn Keller Photography located in Akron, OH. and she is an excellent photographer!

After my health/yoga boycott, I was slightly dreading the photo shoot. But I had committed, and so I went. I wasn't sure how it was going to go. I brought my yoga blocks, straps, mat and a couple of books with yoga poses for reference.

As Lynn and I were preparing for the photo shoot, a cute little VW bug pulled up to her house. Little did I know, Lynn had invited one of my yoga class instructors to the photo shoot. I immediately felt self-conscious and worried about not being good enough at yoga. I realized that I was comparing myself to Nancy who has been practicing yoga for about 30 years. So, I decided to be open to whatever this may bring.

Nancy and Lynn both are very open, warm and caring people. Not mention their twisted and quick sense of humor, so we laughed a lot! So this photo shoot turned into my very own private yoga session. It was absolutely amazing! Nancy did a warm up with me right in the studio. She helped me with correct alignment and explaining the benefits of each pose. And she showed me appropriate modifications when poses were painful.

The afternoon just gave me a renewed sense of yoga appreciation. It reminded me how rewarding and fulfilling practicing yoga is. I feel so empowered after doing my yoga practice. It feels great to be able to do something I never thought I could. It feels great to do poses that are challenging. It feels great when a pose that was difficult becomes slightly easier. It feels great to be able to stop and connect with the universe. It really does feel like I am nourishing my soul when I am practicing yoga!

Nancy asked me if I had a favorite pose. I'm not sure about a favorite, but I do know that I am still shocked every time I do Plank pose. I mean I can't do a push-up but I can do Cataranga-Plank pose. After thinking a second, I do have to say that I usually love corpse pose. Because it means that I can relax after a challenging class!

Ending the boycott. Namaste.