My Yoga Practice Is... Um... Well... Practice Makes Perfect!

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing weekend full of family fun time! I know I sure did. Fortunately, the family fun time is not over for me yet! (Read: WHY ME?!) Winter Storm Titan, a.ka. the 6,987,765 winter storm of the year is passing through with the promise of 1/4 inch of ice and 8 inches of snow. Which means, thanks to Titan, today is snow day 60,987,765 of the season. That's right, no school for FTD or the Wild-child.

You all... I'm reaching family fun time overkill. For that reason, today I have decided to talk about my second love, Yoga. The only mention of family or a baby today will be my laughable attempt at the yoga pose, Happy Baby. 


OK. So Maybe it's a little better than that...

As some of you know, in an attempt to get my post-baby body back in shape, I bought a three month package for unlimited classes at a kick-ass yoga studio. As in, it's a kicks-my-ass-every-class, yoga studio. 

Before the bub, I practiced yoga regularly. So now, after a three year hiatus from yoga, I expected to be a little, rusty, but not a complete beginner. My friends, rusty, was not even close! More like, laughable, sweaty and messy, makes everyone else in the class feel better about themselves sweaty confused messThankfully, yoga classes, no matter where you go, have people practicing at all levels--ranging from first-timers to freakishly strong and flexible--so even though I was falling all over the place and sweating like a whore in church, I was not the only one.

Speaking of falling all over the place... I remember my very first, downward facing dog, pose... I was sure my massive post baby nursing boobs were going to come up and hit me in the face, while my rather round ass flopped backward down my back and smacked me in the back of the head. Good news, it only half happened. Thankfully, now I can pop up into my downward facing dog without the fear of downward facing EVERYTHING!

One of my favorite classes is mixture of yoga and pilates--Yogalates! But it was not always my favorite... When I was originally going through the classes offered at the studio, I came across Yogalates--"A Full body, core blasting workout." Um...Yes, please! By the end of my first class, I was a soaking wet mess. I had no idea what the hell had just happened over the past hour, my hair went from neat ponytail to crazy bed head, and my yoga mat was sideways! My. Yoga Mat. Was. Sideways.  HOW IN THE HELL DOES THAT HAPPEN?


Thankfully, after a month, things are MUCH better... As you know, practice makes perfect, and I am on my way!  Yesterday, I took my favorite class of the week, 'Warm Vinyasa.' It's an hour and fifteen minutes of fast moving poses that defy the laws of gravity, in a room with an average temperature of 90f degrees.

This class kicks my booty in half, then stomps on it. It's SO AMAZING!! When I am sure my legs are going to catch on fire, the teacher says, give me three more deep breaths and lunge deeper into your left leg. WHAT? LUNGE DEEPER? Do you want to see if my thighs will actually catch on fire? But, I did it. Finally, 8 of these class later, I was able to hold it together until the last breath. Then crumble to the mat in a soaking wet mess clinging to those few precious seconds in child's pose. Seeing this progression and improvement is empowering.

The best part is that during each class, as I stand in front of the wall of unforgiving mirrors, I see the results of my hard work. My jiggly arms are not as jiggly, my rather round bottom is a little less round, and my over all mood and anxiety levels are noticeably better. I still sweat, stumble and fall, and cannot even begin to get into some of the poses, but one day I will. Oh yes, one day...


 It's a Yoga Selfie!
No way could I have done that a month ago...
Oh and see those dumbbells, they were a culprit in that crazy Yogalates class.
It's yoga jacked up to an AWESOME level.

So, why am I telling you all of this? If me telling you I was so out of my league in my first Pilates class that my mat ended up sideways, but now I own that class, makes you feel better about taking the first step to going yourself, then mission accomplished. If me telling you that at first I felt like the most confused person in the class, but no one else noticed but me, makes you feel better about signing up at a new gym, then mission accomplished. If telling you that in a months time I have drastically improved my body, strength and mood, makes you excited about taking the first step to a healthier you, then mission accomplished.

I hope you have a fabulous day!

If you are considering yoga, and afraid you will be the same hot ass mess that I was, GET OVER IT! If you have been thinking of starting up a new fitness routine, GO! I promise, you will not be the only one in the class there for the first time. Plus, everyone is so focused on themselves and what they are doing, you will be practically invisible to them.  Bottom line: If I can do it, you can do it!  I promise, you will be SO glad you did it! Need more inspiration? Check out this months 30/30 Challenge!  It's Mindful March: CLICK HERE! 








April is an award-winning writer and blogger. Her work has been published in over ten countries and four languages. From books to newspapers, to print/online magazines and everything in between, you can find her work. For more on April, Visit AprilMcCormick.com