#MayIBeginYoga (...again)

Confession: I haven't practiced yoga for the past three months. When I was going through that really dark time, I gave up on most of the things I cared about because I didn't believe that I deserved them. Yoga was one of those things.

I've been doing dance workout videos and pilates videos just to try something new and get me back in the habit of exercising regularly, but I was intimidated about getting back into yoga. I missed it, but I was ashamed of how much time had passed, and I didn't know how to overcome my pride so that I could start over again. Lo and behold, Instagram came to the rescue! There's a photo challenge going on called #mayibeginyoga, started by a popular yogi known as BeachYogaGirl. I'm not participating in the actual challenge, but with May 1st approaching I figured this would be an excellent opportunity to get back at it.

Hands together. This is as close as I can get them for now. 

 

 

So this evening I returned to Red Lotus and had a wonderful class, taught by an instructor named Kathy. I'd never had a class with her before, but she was really nice and had a number of inspirational things to say (as yoga instructors tend to). My favorites were:

"Yoga builds confidence. Just remember to breathe, move slowly, and smile."

"It's your practice. It's a yoga buffet. Pick and choose."

Thumbs tucked in, protecting the self.

Now I can say that I got over my pride and I'm back! I'm a little rusty but if tonight's class is any indication, it'll come back to me like riding a bicycle. I'm so happy that I'm restarting my yoga practice. I feel like I've gotten a part of myself back.