Charmed Chatter

The musings of a Personal Trainer/Foodie, en route to adding Yoga Teacher to the mix!

For my fist few years working as a personal trainer, after briefly hitting the fitness competition circuit and becoming enthralled by helping people to get fit and just the fitness industry as a whole, I was convinced that hitting the gym for high intensity circuits and traditional weight training was THE way to go to get in shape. I knew people that did step class, or dance, or yoga, or pilates, but I scoffed at their fitness activities as I just did not think that they could measure up to my intensity standards.

With yoga specifically, I had the image in my head from the slow moving postures I'd seen on the televised yoga shows and really thought that it was one thing that would never make sense to me, or appeal to my high energy spirit. Then, one day five years ago, a girl that I worked at the gym with (another trainer, and very fit) said that she had just been to Bikram yoga (hot yoga) and that it had been one of the hardest workouts she had ever done. "No Way" is what I thought... Harder than lunging the length of the gym with a 50lb barbell on my back? Harder than crazy circuit sets of jumping and squatting and abs and multi joint moves. I repeat "No Way". So I decided to join her for a class.

Boy, was I in for a shocker.

I have never really been someone who sweats. Like, I could go for a 4 mile run with my hair done and full makeup on and I would be a little moist for ten minutes after, but I would look as if nothing happened. Even in the gym, weight training just didn't make me sweat... But when I found myself in a 40 degree Celsius room something magical happened... I began to sweat! I sweat like I have never sweat in my life and I have to say, it felt awesome. Then after about 30 minutes of feeling awesome, it started to feel completely impossible to stay in that room. 15 minutes before the 90 minute class end, I had to leave. Not only was it unbearably hot, the moves and poses were incredibly challenging! I felt like yoga had really kicked my ass, and opened my eyes, and so I knew one day I would have to challenge myself to become good at it.

After that day, I attended sporadic Ashtanga yoga classes. I loved the flow of Ashtanga, and it appealed to my love of stretching and contorting and balancing from back in my fitness-gymnastics and dance days. Still, I found each class unbearably difficult to stay focused in. The meditation and stillness of a lot of the poses really messed with me mentally. I argued in my head during any pose that wasn't completely complicated and distracting to my mind and so, after each class it would take me a while before I would build up the nerve to try it again. That was until recently...

This may, I experienced a fork in the road with regards to my professional employment. After going back to work in an office in 2008 (after 4 years of working strictly as a personal trainer and esthetician), this May (with my soul shriveled from the life draining monotony that office work imposes on me personally) I left that office. That morning, as soon as I drove away from the building, I decided that I was going to attend yoga regularly, develop my practice, and finally give it 100%. I knew that I needed yoga, I needed to focus, I needed stillness, and I needed to start fighting and working for it. For once, I had to do something hard, not just what comes easy to me.

I drove straight to a little studio called The Yoga Den and started attending some morning 90 minute Ashtanga classes for a month. They were great, challenging, and left me feeling rejuvenated. Then, a new studio, Yoga Life opened up near my home. They offered hot yoga, in a Moksha-Hot-Flow type style... And since I'd really been enjoying the regular temperature Ashtanga classes, I thought, "Okay hot yoga... Let's try this again". I went. Again, I POURED SWEAT... But this time, I could do it! I could last in the class, in the heat! I could force myself to breathe and still my mind. Day by day, about 5 classes a week since that first class at the end of May til now, I am little by little feeling a wonderful sense of peace and presence in my practice and I have to say, Yoga, you have now stolen my heart. But I'm not possessive - like my love of fitness -I want to share you with the world!

In the next year, I have lofty dreams of heading to California to do my 200hr teacher training in Ashtanga at a four week retreat... And so I am aiming for the March offering. In the meantime I will continue my practice here at the gorgeous Yoga Life Studio with their inspiring and incredibly friendly instructors, and I know I will continue to love every minute of it. 




 

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