Day 4 - What's So Scary About Yoga?

I have a near-pathological fear of going to a yoga studio by myself.

I can't explain it.

News flash! This is not meant to be scary!

It's not about body image; while I am striving toward a more slender, toned body, when my body is in motion, I am perfectly satisfied with its ability to move and carry me, and I am constantly amazed at the things it can do (like running 21k or doing splits with ease). 

It's not about my skill at yoga, either. I'm a novice, it's true, but I try to keep comparisons out of yoga - I don't need to compete with myself or anyone else to benefit from taking in a session.

There really is no good explanation for my fear. I think I sort of half-worry that I'll show up at the wrong time or do something so completely offensive that I'll be run out of Yoga Town forever. And that's ridiculous.

Guinness would probably be okay with going to a yoga studio alone. He likes the smell of stinky yoga mats!

So I spent nearly all of today fruitlessly labouring to get anyone I know in Kingston to come to yoga with me. And it just. Didn't. Work. So I wasn't going to go.

Does this sweatshirt give me cred?

But then I got thinking, and I realised that if I am going to be active for 365 consecutive days, I am going to have to operate outside my comfort zone once in a while. And I spend my days meeting new people, new patients, new nurses, and dealing with families and mental health problems, and god knows what else...I must be able to deal with going to a yoga studio on my own.

So I sucked it up and put on my Big Girl Lulus (which actually have become a bit TOO big recently...), threw on my varsity sweater (as though that would somehow legitimise my presence), and headed to Studio 330. I did a 1.5h Yoga for Athletes class, as taught by Bethany.

And it wasn't so bad.