It should be noted that this is not the first alternative exercise class I ever took on. Back in Minnesota, I signed up for a community ed class in Tai Chi, along with my housemate and her friend. After one forty-five minute session in the gym of the local junior high, which involved a lot of breathing instruction and some truly confusing combinations of moves (made more confusing by the animal names attached to them), somehow all three of us had a headache when the next class rolled around.
Of course I am older and more enlightened now, heh. Amazingly, my response to the first class was not to hatch a scheme to get my fee back, but rather, genuine enjoyment and enthusiasm (dampened only a little by the litany of body complaints everyone was compelled to share during the first session, sheesh). I really liked it! Why, you ask? There are a lot of reasons, some stupid, some relevant. First, the instructor is really wonderful. She is a tiny little person whose body really looks like it is made out of one flowing muscle (which sounds kind of weird and alien- though it's not at all). She is encouraging and pleasant and direct, pushing everyone to do a little more or a little better, and then saying "Yes! Exactly," like she is certain of how capable we are even if we are not. She constantly admonishes us in little detailed ways to get the poses right, and I really like it, because later in the week, I hear her voice in my head telling me to push those shoulder blades down my back! and I think there may be hope yet for my truly terrible posture.
The exercises themselves are good too. There are a lot of stretches that don't feel anything like the stretches I remember (that is, remember doing once long ago when I was a sporty person, in a different lifetime). We do a series of exercises every time, and then try to learn something new with the time that's left over. Some of the exercises have names I can remember, like "Tibetan Rites" or "Sun Salutations" or "Downward Dog." Some have names that I would have to write down to remember, as they are all Sanskritty. But all of them, if I follow the directions of the instructor the best I am able, make my body feel like it's really working.
The thing I like about the class that I feel a little funny about is this: I have never taken a class before that was not for a grade or a credit (and I'm not counting the "Creativity" class I audited my senior year of college when I had already gotten all my degree credits in place- even as an audit student I was driven to get good grades from my "peer teachers," thereby completely missing the point of the class, and the point of auditing. duh...). People who take exercise classes are probably scratching their heads that this is some kind of new experience for me, but it is. I have never taken an exercise class before. And I LOVE this kind of class experience. However much I want to get out of it, that's what I have to put into it. I can do the exercises and try as hard as I can to keep my muscles "firing" in the right way, or not, whatever. The class is for my benefit. It's for ME! Even though I have loved so many of the learning opportunities I have had in my educational career, and the extra classes I have taken here and there, I have never ever felt this way before. I am always consumed with what the teacher wants from me, and what the other students in the class want from me. In this class, for the first time ever- none of that. LOVE!
The last part of every class, which has another name I didn't write down, is fantastic. We all lie down on our mats in the dark while our instructor leads us through a grateful relaxation exercise. We feel our elbows sink into the floor. Our legs are heavy, our arms are heavy. Our breath is focused or something. We embrace the light within ourselves. We feel grateful for the work we have done. Zzzz. When I was pregnant the first time, and wondering how I was going to stick to my goal of having an unmedicated childbirth, I invested in a Hypnobabies CD set. The idea was that the course would train me to hypnotize myself into complete relaxation, resulting in no labor pains. I learned two important things from this course. The first was that self hypnosis was totally and completely useless when it came up against actual factual labor. Oh well. The second was that I am perfectly suited to guided relaxation. As laughable as hypnosis was during the birth, it was my best friend during the pregnancy, when all of my relaxing practice sessions resulted in hour upon comatose hour of unconscious couch time. Permission to nap? Whatever, it was awesome. And now that I think about it, it also included the encouraging self-pep-talk element that I also get from the instructor during the "lie down time" at the end of my class. Sometimes during this relaxing end part, I get a little choked up about how great the whole experience is. Relaxation and affirmation, and stretching, and muscle tone! And when I get home, dinner is ready! Are you kidding me with this?
Naomi, who is constantly refining her conversation skills in strange and hilarious ways, always asks me when I get home, "How was your yoga?" or "How did you do your yoga?" Hee. She loves my yoga mat and uses it to do pretend yoga, real dancing, somersaults, and some ill-conceived building projects that are usually scrapped pretty quickly.
Namaste, people!
