Because It’s Okay to Accept Support

I walked into my first yoga class over 10 years ago with feelings of uneasiness and with expectations. Generally I wanted to look like the fierce females I was seeing all over the internet and especially I wanted arms like Jennifer Aniston. She does yoga; she looks great.

I must confess I was already intimidated walking into that class. Being a lifestyle magazine editor I had reported on and seen my fair share of women at the top of their practice; the mere thought of being able to achieve some of the poses they do daunted me. So this was all in my head walking into that first class.

While the instructor cordially acknowledged new students that was all the “primer” we received. This was an intermediate class so the instructor assumes you already have some background, I would later learn. At least I kept my ego in check enough not to choose a fast-flow class, but as we got past the warm-up poses, I began to wonder if what I was doing was right. I awkwardly tried to look aside and in front of me for guidance. Was I wobbling as much as the other newbies? To me this was like the feeling of jumping to get on a merry-go-round that was already in motion. Meanwhile, some of my fellow classmates were making quick work of employing the blocks we were told to take as we entered the room, to assist in the proper execution of the forward folds and other poses.

Determined not to convey my beginner’s status, I chose to follow the lead of the other class newbies who were not using the blocks. I proceeded doing the rest of the class to the best of my ability, feeling unstable, unsettled and at times in pain.