Since having a baby I have been forced to listen to my body more and unfortunately for my crazy ass that means slowing down my workouts occasionally. I have a hard time slowing down in general and not just physically, but mentally too, which brings me to my topic for the day, yoga.
I hate yoga! I know, I know, who hates yoga? I love yoga sculpt, where I get to jump around and still use weights, but who am I kidding that’s not the real mindful, get in touch with yourself, slow it down yoga that I need. Now don’t get me wrong, I always feel good after yoga, but getting through it is pure hell for me. Hate is a strong word and the reason I use it is because of the feelings yoga brings up for me.
The loud breathing of the people around me, the girl in the perfect outfit next to me, the jack ass in front of me in his fancy yoga positions. These are the things that bring anger up for me, who the fuck gets angry during yoga? I do! But, it’s not those people around me that I’m angry at, in fact I admire them. The fact that I’m focusing so much attention on them is my problem.
Yoga is about getting in touch with yourself and the “shell” we call our body, right? Well if it’s about me, why am I focusing on other people? Maybe the anger coming out is about me and instead of putting my fucking big girl pants on and dealing with that I’m putting it on the others around me. And that my friends is hard to swallow, but shit, the truth hurts sometimes! Thank you, I’ll now be sending every one reading this a check for my therapy session :).
It has taken me a long time to figure this out. My goal has been to do yoga once a week. Some weeks I do it and others I skip, repeatedly. It is such a humbling experience for me. It’s hard for me to hold poses, to quiet my thoughts, to talk nicely to myself, and for the love of God to sit still and slow my ass down!
It’s the things in life that make us uncomfortable that we usually shy away from or “hate” in my situation, but these are the things that change us. These are the situations that we should be hauling ass towards!
I see this everyday as a fitness and nutrition professional. People want to make changes, they want to see changes, but are scared to take the steps to do so. It is scary, it may bring up yucky thoughts at first, you will be uncomfortable, but its important to start the journey. Even if you get sidetracked from time to time, you keep going. Living a healthy lifestyle is a journey. Things don’t happen overnight and when you reach a goal, make another one.
My current goal is to love yoga. Now am I anywhere close to that right now, fuck no! But damn it I’m gonna get there!
I have 3 simple steps that I always use to help me get out of my comfort zone. Hopefully they will help you!
- Talk nicely to yourself. If you wouldn’t say it to your best girlfriend, why on earth would you say it to yourself!
- Think of how you’ll feel after.
- Think of one thing you are amazing at. Why wouldn’t you want to try something new and potentially add something to your list?
The struggle is real girls, but we are tough AF and can slay anything we put our minds to. Have a kick ass Tuesday.
Peace, Wine, and Pushups 