Yoga and Waffles

I decided to give Yoga a try - again.  For years I said I hated yoga - not because I gave it a real chance but because the one time I took a class -  the person practicing next to me did a swan-dive into a headstand and I decided - nope, not for me!  I tend to wobble with both feet on the ground.

My friends talk about yoga like it is the latest exercise boot-camp or social club and not a Hindu spiritual discipline.  Beer garden yoga, rocket yoga, chair yoga, naked yoga and since when are goats invited?  Again, not interested.

I joined a fancy gym in January - because I am a walking cliche - and oddly enough, without my permission, fell in love with the yoga studio.  A dark, warm room with mats, blankets and pillows.  Is this the preschool version of yoga?  Stretching, breathing, resting - I'm in!  I showed up to my first spiritually inspired, preschool  yoga class ready to hate anyone who looked good in their yoga pants and to my surprise, half the class looked like they ate waffles for breakfast too! 

I spied plenty of unpedicured feet in that fancy yoga studio.  The lady next to me just laid on her mat breathing most of the class.  Even I can do that! I stretched and twisted and Vinyasa'd my way into all kinds of poses and at the end, we took a quick nap.  And this counts as exercise?  Delightful. 

Turns out, yoga is not a team sport.  I'm not supposed to look around the room to see what other people are doing or not doing.  I'm supposed to focus on me - my wobbles - my breathing - my strength - my belly full of waffles.  Sadly, this is a life long pattern for me.  I think other people are just - good at stuff.  I see their accomplishments and completely disregard the 10,000 hours of hard work they put into learning how to do a swan-dive into a headstand.  Instead of being inspired, I'm annoyed.  Instead of looking at their accomplishments as a reason to try harder, I use them as justification to quit.  Instead of working towards - I run from.  Although it feels new, this is not new information - I am just rediscovering this old pattern in my new, fancy yoga studio.  

So I have surrendered to the practice of yoga.  Not the trendy version - my version, complete with dimly lit studios, exotic music, mats, naps and a belly full of waffles.