Can You Believe I Hated My First Yoga Class?

Yes, that is right. I was home from college one summer and decided to try a class at my local club (ironically where I ended up teaching yoga when I moved back to Richmond).

I cannot remember what it was exactly that I did not like but I walked away thinking this is just not for me.

And at the time that was probably true. I simply was not ready.

I spent the better part of that decade running…I ran road races, even a marathon and determined my worth by how many miles I ran in a week and the number on the scale.

​Nearly a decade passed before I stumbled into another yoga class.

I took a beginners yoga class and instantly felt its calming effects.

It calmed my anxieties and mind and it did not take too much time before one class a week turned into four classes a week. I was finally ready to allow my mind to quieten and receive the benefits of a regular practice into my life.

I certainly understand how difficult it can be to enter your first yoga class or return after a bad experience.

I was not flexible in the least (14 years of running will do that to you!) when I first started. However, my teachers helped me to open my body intelligently using props like yoga blocks, straps and blankets and how to pay attention to my breath.

I also struggled with quieting my mind but the movement meditation that yoga provides helped me to slowly calm the “monkey mind.” As I was learning the poses my focus and attention had to be on the poses—I could not think of anything else going on in my life. I had to keep my mind focused on what was happening in the “now.”

I cannot think of a better way to get out of your head!