My First Yoga Class In Years

As you all know, I’m working for Sunlife of Canada here in BGC and what’s good in this company is that they do not only promote financial literacy but also that of health, vitality and wellness. As part of their initiative, they provide Free Yoga classes for their employees every Wednesday and Thursday! When I knew about this, I got so excited and felt really grateful that I’m working for this company. Good thing I just bought a new Yoga mat which I currently use for my HIIT training in the gym at least twice a week.

I was asked by one of my officemates to join the Thursday class and so I did. I prepared my yoga pants and tank top the night before and went to work looking forward to my first Yoga class in almost a year! Can you imagine? My last enrollment to a Yoga Studio was last April 2017 and only had a few home practices since then. But real yoga practice? Almost one year!

I came to the class releasing all my expectations and I was like, Okay Princess, Just do it and don’t think about it too much.

We started lying down and with stretching poses, childpose and some downward facing dogs. It was easy, I thought to myself. Little did I know that our teacher was up to something challenging, a lot of planks, back bends and warrior poses and not to mention, intense core work at the beginning of the practice.

Whew! I got really tired from the whole 90 minute session. I even thought it would only last for 60 minutes but oh boy I was wrong! And one of the highlight of my practice was this, as we eased into the first chair pose, I was okay. But the second time around where things got messy in my head and I had this one specific voice in my head telling me, “ Why are you putting yourself in this situation Princess? What the hell? All this pain on your legs and knees, why? “ I tried to shut down that voice and focused on my practice, and took advantage of all the mini breaks that we had when we do a sun salutation pose. As the class progressed, it became more challenging and the conversations in my head got a little more friendlier as I slowly convinced myself that the class will soon come to an end.

Then in one of the poses, Shailo, our teacher said, “ How you are in the practice is how you are in life”, and I was like, Oh my gosh this opens up so much about this whole experience. I started asking questions to myself, Do I tend to shy away from pain even if it is the only way to progress in my mental and physical fitness?

But then, I went back to my practice and tried to be as present in the moment as possible. And I’ve realized, though it was a very challenging first, I got through it and got rewarded with much needed rest and relaxation through Savasana. Savasana made every asana worth it. Oh and I loved the mint balm that was placed in my neck and my forehead too by Shailo.

Here's the million dollar question!

Will I do it again?

Yes, definitely! So cheers to a consistent weekly Yoga practice and the best part about it is that it’s free! And I can do my strength and cardio training on other days when I don’t do Yoga!

Cheers to kickstarting and maintaining an active lifestyle! For me it’s not all about aesthetics now, it’s about the empowerment and strength that I feel whenever I move my body in every way that I can.

How do you move your body?

Let me know in the comments down below! Or better yet, follow me on Instagram for more Health, Beauty and Wellness tips ( itsme_rawbeauty )

Love lots,

Princess