You remember when I was telling you about how I’m all over yoga now but refuse to go to class because I’m a socially awkward lentil? Well, I signed up to a local gym (yeah, for real). And the gym is quite nice, better than any other gym I’ve been to before. And they have classes. Even a yoga class. So I thought… do it. Do it. Do it! And one day I go in and see myself handing over £3.99 to the lady at the reception saying I want to go to their yoga class (no you don’t, no you don’t, whaaaaa?!). By the time a thick dumpling formed in my throat and my palms became sweaty and I came to my senses it was just too late. And what makes me more anxious than a group of yogis? Wasting £3.99.
There was about 15 people in the class. Maybe 17 or 18, I because overwhelmingly dizzy as soon as I walked in – the possible interaction with strangers got better of me so any maths became absolutely impossible. Now, I’m not someone to admit they don’t like talking to strangers (or touching them – which at that point I didn’t realize was yet to come!) so I played it cool. Got the mat, stretched me leggys, stretched me belleh… before I knew it was an hour later and we were all putting our mats aways and trotting off to the depth of the gym again.
So did I have a full on panicky black out? No, ladies and gentlemen. Not at all. I had the time of my bloody life! It was brilliant. It was terrifying because I hate group sports more than I hate Cookie’s poo on the carpet but it was absolutely brilliant to have someone tell you what you’re doing wrong and where you should or shouldn’t be hurting in which pose. My only negative note would be that it wasn’t yoga the way I practise it. It was more focused on resistance rather than balance and flexibility which after all I didn’t mind but some could possibly be disappointed that there were no downward facing dogs and savasanas. For £3.99 I went again the following Monday and I expect that I might join the next one too. I still want to go to a proper yogi yoga class where they tell you how to breathe and how to do a hollow back handstand without breaking in half.