I attended my first real yoga class in ten years this week. That's ten years of Taco Tuesdays, eating birthday cake, drinking lattes, and having three babies - including one c-section - which has wrecked havoc on my "core".

I am not a high-intensity person - I like yoga because it is a natural extension of yourself - stretching, building balance, deep breathing, strengthening from within. I went to a slow flow deep stretch class, which is basically an excuse to take a nap, and it was wonderful. They let me lay on a mat in the dark and put a cool, lavender scented cloth over my eyes. They talked me through all the poses and nothing felt rushed- a great first step back into regular yoga practice.

 Feeling confident, I signed up for the Happy Hour class the following Sunday. Although the name of the class was nondescript, I thought, well, it has "happy" in the title, so it can't be too bad. Fast forward to Sunday at about 4pm...I am sweating from every pore in my body and sitting on my knees watching the rest of the class do their 75th Vinyasa (think: graceful Marine style burpees) of the hour. I noticed that although I am not the oldest person in the room (by far), I am obviously the most out of practice (read: out of shape). I couldn't keep up! I did my best, jumping back in when I caught my breath and my vision cleared. At the end of class, when we were doing our cool down and laying flat on our backs on the floor with our eyes closed, I'm pretty sure the instructor came over to make sure I was still alive once or twice. I was. I was alive and thinking: I sure have a lot of work to do- and thank God for the cold lavender scented cloth. 

I signed up for the new student deal at the studio, so I have unlimited classes this month. Being on a budget, that alone will motivate me to "get my money's worth" and go back. But truthfully, I am looking forward to the challenge. And one day, I'll be the one doing the headstand next to the girl who is gasping for breath and sweating out of every pore in her body and I will encourage her that I was that girl once. (Looks dreamily into the future...) But for now, I will definitely be getting a yoga towel to catch all my sweat and some actual yoga clothes that breathe.

-Jessie