I’ve been spending a lot of time here lately, but I didn’t always love yoga.
I’d tried many yoga studios in New York, and they were all fine, but there was no place that I was dying to keep returning to. Some were too fast or too difficult, some were too pretentious and some were just not the right fit for me.
I started having panic attacks in September, and my therapist and Alicia both kept bringing up yoga. At first, I think I was afraid I’d ended up a sobbing mess on the mat, so I was reluctant to try again, but I eventually gave Laughing Lotus a try in January and yoga was just much more right for me this time.
Why?
I’m more attuned to my breath. Over the past few months, I’ve began meditating on a regular basis, and this has helped tremendously in yoga. I mostly do vinyasa yoga, which is breath-synchronized movement, so coming in with better skills at focusing on my breath made yoga much easier than it’s been in the past for me.
I stopped competing. I’m not going to lie, I’m a competitive person. I always knew that yoga was about doing your own thing, at your own pace, but that’s easier said than done when you’re in a class of lithe yogis who can hold every single pose flawlessly. Though I’m getting better at yoga, that’s still not me. But this time around, I knew I was doing yoga for the mental benefits, and I knew that looking at the person next to me or in front of me wouldn’t do anything to help my yoga, so I let this go and started doing my own thing, and, what do you know – I started getting better and enjoying it more. Weird, right?
I stopped being so hard on myself. In running, I push myself hard and set big goals for myself. While there’s a few yoga poses I want to get better at (crow, full wheel, headstand/handstand, I’m looking at you), I have stopped getting frustrated when I can’t get into these or other poses, or if I’m feeling a little wobbly one day. Respecting your mind, body and their limits is a huge part of yoga, and I have finally embraced this. Maybe one day I will get one of these poses, but until then, I’m just going to keep doing what I can and just focus on the breathing and what I can do.
I got a mat I really like. This is a dumb and superficial reason, but hey, it helped, too. I got a gift card to Lululemon for my birthday, so I invested in a mat that I love. It’s heavy, and it smells a little rubbery, but it’s really thick and cushy and my hands never slip, and it’s a really soothing green, and it just makes me want to use it.
I found the right place. Laughing Lotus is not pretentious, not super-hippie (but not super not-hippie either…and I kind of like that) and doesn’t take itself too seriously, so I enjoy going there. It’s also convenient for me, which makes a big difference.
Do you like yoga? How did you get into it?
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This is a great post! It goes for any workout, you really just have to find the place/type/instructor/etc you love for you to keep going back. I like yoga but don't love it enough to go regularly, although I've tried. I only found that with one class and instructor, Kayleigh's Core Fusion Yoga at Exhale. I loved yoga so much because of her instruction and music. I miss it, but it's not convenient for me now that I moved! I'm glad you are getting so much out of your yoga classes.
I started yoga in 2000 at a small studio where I could really learn the poses. About a year later I moved and found another studio that was very similar and focused most on alignment and slow moving asanas. I liked my first studio, but fell in love with my second.
Yoga is so amazing if your able to focus on self and do away with the competitiveness. This is always hard for me. Since the new year my intentions at the start of every practice have been more about being kind to myself and not pushing to hard, and I've noticed that I'm getting into poses I was unable to do before.
It does take time and effort to really fall in love with a practice and a studio ... so glad you started to love yours!
p.s. regarding the mat, it's not superficial at all. A good mat makes all the difference in the world. When your LLL wears out, try Manduka. Totally changed my world!
LOVE THIS. I realized I was too competitive/hard on myself during yoga too recently. Yoga is ABOUT respecting your mind and body and breathing...not about being the best. And my practices are so much more fun now!
I LOVE yoga. I started by doing a yoga video about 10 years ago. I didn't go to my first actual yoga class until about 7 years or so after buying that first video. I love yoga classes, if you find the right studio. It's not in the budget right now so I occasionally pop in a DVD at home.
I never really enjoyed yoga until the past month. I've been battling IT band issues for about 8 weeks and once it was finally improving, I got a stress fracture. I finally realized my body is telling (screaming! yelling!) me to slow down and fix some muscular/balance/etc. issues before proceeding with a high intensity training cycle again. Cheers to running smarter and here's hoping yoga helps with that!
Oh no :( Hope your injuries get better!
I'm all about yoga but I definitely think the right mat, right instructor, right place, right CLASS are HUGE factors in the enjoyment of a class. I know that I need a thicker mat because if I'm doing too much on my back, especially rolling around and it hurts my spine if the mat is too thin. But I LOVE yoga and everything it has done for my mind, body and spirit!
I started doing yoga several years ago because the guy I liked at the time was into it. I've moved on from him, but my love for yoga stuck, especially now that I'm so much more consistent in my practice.
That's awesome that a guy you were into was into yoga!
I love yoga. It's my happy place. Really, when life is nuts for me and I just need a mental break, I look to yoga. It is a necessity in my life.
I have also discovered in the last few days how much yoga has conditioned me for an injury. Being unable to use one ankle/leg has made me totally dependent on the other leg and arms for support. It's been all about balance and I am actually getting along really well.
Great post - I can definitely relate. I was a "yoga skeptic" for years, it just didn't do anything for me. It didn't feel like a workout, and I wasn't letting my mind go enough for it to help me.
I actually "found" my yoga when I was living in Sweden - I started taking classes at my local gym. Taking yoga classes in another language somehow got me to turn off my brain for a while and just settle in. When I got back to NYC I had trouble finding a yoga studio that was for me, I had just been going to yoga to the people. Then I found Strala Yoga, also totally not pretentious, and a great community of people. Now I really want to try a class or two at Laughing Lotus, I've heard so many great things about it!
Ooh, that is really interesting about "finding" yoga when it wasn't in English.
And YES! Good point about Strala - I have tried it and liked it a lot, too, but it's not super-convenient for me to go often. DEFINITELY try Laughing Lotus!
I think the competitive issue is something that I face in yoga too. I think being in competitive sports makes us compare ourselves either to ourselves or to others too often. I definitely am so bad about looking around and seeing how deep people are in their pose, and I'm actually going to blame doing that on Tuesday to one of the reasons my ankle is bothering me this week/weekend. I'm so glad you found a place that you like and reasons that you're enjoying it. I know there are so many benefits to it.