Basement

I recently purchased a Groupon for a yearlong subscription to a yoga video collection. I've always wanted to truly try yoga, but being as cheap as I can be I couldn't ever really stomach the cost associated with taking class in a studio. So when I saw the deal was only $12 for a year I was all over it.

A couple things I've noticed since starting my "practice."

• I'm not nearly as flexible as I was pre-C, but I can still put my palms flat on the ground while in forward front stretch so I'll get there again. Eventually. Maybe.
• My core is supa dupa weak. I can do planks and downward dogs, no problem. It's when I try some of the twisting one-hand-one-leg balances that I realize how far I have to go. At least in my basement no one can see me trying to stabilize all over the place. And the only one who could get hurt - aside from me because, well, klutz - is my cat if he decides to try to investigate at the wrong time.
• The teachers tend to be super chatty, but I guess that comes with being on video. You have to fill the silence somehow, and no one wants to hear the loud "dragon breathers" who are sometimes featured as students for the entire length of the class.
• I've forgotten how it feels to not just naturally be good at something. It's an odd feeling, but one I'm okay with. After all, the teachers in the video call it a practice because that's what it takes to get the hang of yoga. Practice. I just have to go back to my mindset from dancing days past where I don't know all of the technique by heart and have the openness to learn.

Am I ever going to be a true "yogi" who can do all of the awesome inversions and balances like it's nothing? Probably not. But what I will do is get better and stronger in my practice. And maybe, just maybe, become a more zen person in the process.

Namastae, y'all!