Just breathe

My plan was to fake it as much as I could so I looked like I knew what I was doing. Like I had taken a yoga class before. I took my cue from the other (presumably experienced) yogis settling into the room and spread out my mat, took off my shoes and socks, and sat cross-legged, palms in the air, waiting for class to start. My hope for the class was to tone my core and maybe even experience some of that "balance" everyone always talks about, starry-eyed, when raving about yoga. It was worth a shot, right?

From my very first downward-facing dog, my mind was flooded with unzen, although very Jen, thoughts. Seriously? Lie still with my eyes closed for 5 minutes, listening to bird music? FIVE MINUTES? Isn't that a bit excessive? Wouldn't 2 minutes do the trick? I can't possibly be doing this warrior thing right...but if I look around to compare poses any more, that dude in front of me is going to think I'm checking him out. How is it possible that yoga makes me feel even shorter? I need to get a pair of those cute cropped pants like that one girl has. Breathe through my left nostril only? Really? Oh thank God Becky isn't here...there's no way I'd be able to keep a straight face.

Admittedly, I had a rough start. You know what the hardest thing turned out to be? Breathing. I'm not even kidding. I was having trouble inhaling and exhaling when the instructor wanted me to. So much emphasis was put on when and how to breathe that I started believing I might hurt myself, or something ridiculous, if I didn't to it right. I actually starting to get frustrated with myself and my inability to breathe. I mean, it's not hard. I do it every day without thinking. But the more I tried to do it right, the more I realized I was so stressed-out and uptight that I was actually more comfortable holding my breath. Not breathing.

Yikes. I guess I needed this experience even more than I thought.

I don't know when exactly it happened, but some time in that 60 minute session I relaxed. I started breathing correctly without having to think about it. By the time we finished the class with another 5 minutes of bird music and meditation, I was happy to have it. I can't believe I'm actually saying this (with starry eyes, none-the-less), but the sense of calm I walked away with was unbelievable. Truly, my head was at peace and I felt like I had the strength to run a marathon, let alone take on my daily routine. I'm seriously so surprised by how good I felt that I'm not even sure what else to say. Except maybe I will invest in some cute cropped yoga pants and start going every week.

Gold Stars this week go to:

*Balance: Holy crap...it really does exist!

*My Friendly Neighborhood Dog Park Committee: I saw the flyers about developing a neighborhood dog park and was immediately intriegued. So on Wednesday night, I attended the first meeting. I was secretly hoping to play the part of Lorelai Gilmore at a Stars Hollow town meeting... maybe without the Taylor Dosey antics. I definitely wasn't disappointed. Not only was "Taylor" at the meeting...but so were "Babette" and "Miss Patty"! It was the most entertaining evening I've had in a long time. The task seems daunting, but I do believe we are all up to the challenge.

*Burger Break: It's the Kellogg death rattle this week, and it's been rough. Mike's been working nonstop tryng to finish up his last few speeches, papers and group projects. By Thursday night, I was craving time with him in a big way. So he took me out for a burger and fries. It was nice when we sat down at a table outside (Dorey came with us and only growled at two dogs as they passed by. We'll chalk that one up as a win!)...but a creepy fog rolled in during our meal and by the time we gobbled down the last fry, it was freaking freezing. Regardless, just having that one hour to regroup before diving back into yet more work was just what we needed.