My Yoga Challenge - Still Making Me Laugh at Myself
When Kyle and I moved to Vancouver we couldn't believe how sleepy it was here. We'd show up to parties as they were ending and our minds were blown that anyone could possibly be happy living like that.
Now we say things like, "sorry I can't make it. I have an early yoga class tomorrow."
Oh My God, who are we?
So when my bestie, Hannah, was in town we decided to get in our car, head out to Whistler, do a yoga class, stop at a local brewery and then hike out to the Train Wreck.
Seriously. This is my life.
We went to Y Yoga and the studio was really nice, lots of mirrors, which I find helpful for watching my form, and it was super bright and airy, but it was also really warm.
We rented mats + forgot our towels + realized that Hatha really needs to come with ratings. 3 days later and my abs + butt are still on fire. But we also realized that the base level of yogi in Vancouver is sooo high. During this class when the teacher told us to lift our legs into incomprehensibly high places there was only one person who could do it. ONLY ONE. Sweet relief. Just a normal person class.
If you are wondering who the one person was, yes, it was Hannah, who "hasn't had time to do yoga lately." Damn that girl is fine.
As I said we rented mats + forgot towels + it was warm + hard so Kyle and I immediately skidded out. We looked at each other and watched as our downward dog started getting longer + longer + we desperately grabbed onto the sides of the mat trying to stop the slipping which was rapidly getting out of control when the instructor came over with a towel for Kyle. He knew I was about to go down too, so we shared the towel for a while before she realized that I also needed one.
Guys.
Oh my god,
we are the people at the back of the class who require an emergency sweat towel.
because we are
going down
After that I was pretty OK. I can do quite a bit of yogi things that I couldn't before even though I have totally abandoned my yoga challenge. I think I have found a way to be able to manage about 3 times a week from now on, but I haven't been going. I just took an entire month off.
But here's why I feel this is still a Yoga Challenge post.
I was on my knees, totally supported in a basic, beginner, there's nothing to it pose and I just
fell over
I tried to get back up 3 times and I couldn't do it.
And you know what?
I just laughed.
Not an embarrassed laugh. Not an attention seeking laugh. Just a, hey Eva. Normally you can do this. Today you can't. That's OK. Bodies are funny. Falling over is funny.
It felt different, because due to my challenge I know so well I am capable of staying up during that pose. I've done it a hundred times. And that morning I just couldn't. And it doesn't matter. I'll do it next time. I've demonstrated to myself that I am capable of it.
This is what I love about "challenges." They challenge you to push yourself and they keep you motivated for a while. But a lot of times they show you what you're capable of. And when they do that, they make falling over, literally, figuratively, a lot easier to manage the next time.
Plus, falling over is really funny.
One year ago we decided as a family some things needed to change in order to feel true (or really any) happiness again. We took action. I did the work. And I’m here to celebrate that one year later.