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!
