Never say never

Oh, I could never…

I hear that a lot. I hear it about running and I hear it about aerial yoga. And it makes me sad. I say it about a few things like bungee jumping and sky diving but otherwise, why not give it a go?

I started aerial yoga because someone at my old work thought it would be a good fit for me. I’m not sure why she thought that but she did and she encouraged me to try it. Part of me wanted to say no. No because it seemed like an absurd idea. Because I’m a couch potato at heart. Because I have no upper body strength. But at the same time I was working on being more open. I didn’t really have a reason to say no, just some excuses. And I’m thrilled that I did it. I was hooked from the first class. Yes, there were bruises and aches. I’m not the best at it but I do love it.

What does aerial yoga do? In my opinion only, and I don’t have a medical background, it helps me be me. It helps me stretch out my joints in a way that even regular, ground yoga cannot. The fabric supports me and gravity helps me. Ground yoga hurts and takes days to recover due to my autoimmune disorder. Mostly, I’m fine the next day after an aerial yoga class. In fact, there have been days that I walked into class sore and in pain and walked out feeling like a new woman. It strengthens my muscles and joints helping me with my overall achiness. It also takes any mental stress away. I leave it on the silks as one teacher told me. Frustration, anxiety or anger can all be worked through and left behind. Being a klutz, aerial yoga increases my balance. I don’t know if I’m graceful yet but I have a tendency not to fall or trip as much. I am also much more aware of my body. It lets me be creative in expressing myself.

And low aerial yoga is even less intimidating. You are just a few inches off the ground. Most of the time you have at least one body part on the ground. Often, low aerial yoga is restorative where you hold poses a little bit longer and focus even more on breath and body awareness. Nearly anyone can do it. It’s still not easy and your body will still get a full workout but at the same time you get to stretch out. I love having my class on Wednesday because it’s conveniently placed midweek. We work out all the stress from the week so far and anxiety for the week or weekend ahead. Generally, we also share both good and bad feelings. Just to get it out. Sometimes, that’s all you need to feel better. I like to play modern folk music. Yoga music often made me unsettled as it was so unfamiliar. Meditation is also important. We do one at the beginning and one at the end of class. Sometimes, it will be a body sweep or a mind sweep where we become aware of what we are feeling physically or emotionally.

See, aerial yoga doesn’t seem so scary now does it? You should come try it.

Running is like meditation to me. It connects me to my mind and body. My body might be crying out to stop but my mind says “nope.” I was not a runner. If I was running something big was coming that I couldn’t beat up. Then, one day I was logging my walk with the dog and I looked at someone else’s log of their run for the same time and the difference in the calorie burn. I wanted that calorie burn. I like to eat and to have that many extra calories per day sounded good to me.

What I found was that I enjoy it. While I do it, because convincing myself to do it can be hard. It’s hot and sweaty and I’m slow and will probably never win a race. And I love it. I never thought I would, but there is something powerful about pushing your body to its limits. Limits that are further away than I thought they were. When I started a 5k seemed out of reach and in May I ran a half marathon. That seemed impossible two years ago.

So don’t sell yourself short. You never know what you might like doing. You might like running, hiking, knitting, crafts or hot air ballooning. But if you say, “I could never…” you won’t discover a possible joy in your life. Say yes, take a chance. Make a change. You will never know what you are capable of unless you try.

That’s your pep talk. Go forth and be joyful!