A New Perspective on Yoga

I’ve always said the key to a successful workout plan is doing something you love. If you hate it, or simply don’t enjoy the activity you are likely to find every excuse in the book to skip the gym.

That’s how I felt about yoga. I’ve taken classes from some excellent instructors but I just never thought it was for me…until the yoga sculpt class I took yesterday. 

The class incorporated yoga poses with the use of free weights and more chaturangas than I could count! At the end of class I was a hot, sweaty, exhausted mess – and I LOVED IT!

So I think it’s important for me to share my lesson learned with you…even though you may have not liked something in the past, be daring enough to give it another try. You may find a new instructor or format can changes your whole perspective on the workout.

Second Chances

Have you ever attended a fitness class and thought, “This really just isn’t for me.”?

A few weeks ago I attended a Zumba class. I left thinking, what’s all the hype about? The workout was decent but I just didn’t feel like it had worked me out enough and I didn’t really have much fun doing it.

Last night I gave it another try and I’m really glad I did. It was a great workout and I had a fabulous time doing it.

This got me thinking…how many times do we give up on an activity because we did it once and didn’t find it enjoyable? Granted, not all things in life deserve a second chance, but I think we don’t give new experiences enough of a chance. We live such sensationalized lives that most of the time if it doesn’t take our breath away in the first few minutes we discard it.

There were a number of factors that could have affected my experience last night as opposed to my first Zumba class:
• Different instructor, group and music
• It wasn’t my first time so I knew better what to expect
• I was taking the class to encourage a friend to try it out

I think the most important factor was I walked into that class last night knowing that this was MY workout. It was MY opportunity to make it exactly what I wanted it to be. I could work myself as hard as I wanted or take it as easy as I needed to. I listened to my body and pushed hard when I felt like I could and held back a little when my body told me to.

Life is about experiences and trying new things. I encourage you to get out and try something new. And if you don’t like it the first time, consider giving it a second chance. If it’s anything like my experience with Zumba, you’ll be glad you did!