Even before I had any bits of interest in exploring my personal spirituality, I was intrigued by yogic philosophy. The core and fundamental teachings of yoga that I had heard about were points of interest for me, especially during this time of my life. (If you read last week's blog post, you may understand the timeline of events a little better.)
My initial introduction was through a one-credit physical education Hatha Yoga course at college. Come to think of it, the class was quite diverse. People of many different shapes/sizes, races/ethnicities, and skill levels were present. Some were present just for the P.E. credit. Others, like myself, were interested in practicing yoga but hadn’t ever had the opportunity to take a class. Some practiced daily and/or were yoga instructors themselves.
The course was taught by an extremely wholesome human being. Her passion for the practice radiated through the room every class. She structured the class to be very beginner friendly. One of my favorite pieces of the course was that the instructor had us arrange our mats in a circle. She stated that with circles there was no beginning or end. She made it a habit to dim the lights during practice and gave each of us a battery-operated tealight candle to place at the front end of our mats. At the top of each class she could read us a passage from a book about yogic teachings that she wanted for us to “chew on” during practice (if i remember the title, I will include it) and I remember these to be very impactful. She taught basic principles that shaped my relationship with yoga. I had learned the importance of developing a relationship with my mat. It was there that Balasana/“child’s pose” became my favorite asana. The release that I experience in that specific asana is always so cathartic. And in fact, by the end of the semester I was practicing almost daily, even if it was only a 15 minute Savasana. In my home practice, I began to really love Adho Mukha Shvanasana/”downward facing dog”. This developed into my exploration of Camatkarasana/“’wild thing”. I saw development in my flexibility and joint mobility. I felt connected to pranayama (breath-work) practices.All of this had convinced me that this physical practice was so much more than just a good workout. Come the end of that course and in the months after, I continued some home practice through the remainder of that year but eventually found myself getting a little “bored” with the few asanas that I had known so I began seeking a studio.
Living in a predominantly white area, local studios do not have much diversity. What I had seen in my local studios were mostly thin, middle aged, cis-gendered women in attendance. I didn’t feel super comfortable attending these studios. I also didn’t have the financial security to do so either. And when I finally did (nearly a year and a half later, in February of 2019), I was quickly overwhelmed by the environment despite my overall enjoyment of the knowledge I would gain.
This studio, (we’ll call “Studio A” for the sake of continuity) is very small, and has quite an intimate setting. I came across Studio A when looking for an affordable studio to attend. They offered a week-long promotion of unlimited classes for a 7 day trial period for a very reasonable price. They also offered a college student discount with class packages as opposed to a membership, so I figured if I didn't like it then I wasn't going to be locked in. After purchasing the 7 day trial, I actually attended a meditation class first. (I will expand upon this piece of my journey in a later blog post. I attribute so much of my healing to meditation. This practice holds an incredibly sacred place in my heart.) For the remainder of the week-long trial, I attended as many of the different classes as my schedule had allowed for. The instructors were very sweet, and very accommodating. I hadn’t ever taken yin, vinyasa, hot or restorative yoga before and all of these styles were taught. I have a deep love for restorative yoga and believe that everyone needs to try a restorative class (specifically with a dear friend of mine, who's the instructor that introduced me to restorative yoga). I called Studio A home for about a year until the classes that I frequented were unfortunately no longer available. (However, this was quite timely though, given the fact that COVID-19 had begun to overwhelm our lives).
In January of 2020, after catching wind that Studio A was soon to revamp their class schedule, I joined what we will call “Studio B”. This was more of an athletic setting. I will keep the details of this studio quite brief because I attended two classes and found that this space was nothing but anxiety producing.
In February of 2020, I started at “Studio C.” This studio is quite unique, at least for the area. It is a much larger space with an ability to have larger class sizes. This studio is very popular amongst locals. In that way, I didn't feel the personal connection that I felt in Studio A. But, the class offerings were intriguing enough to feel like the price for attendance was justifiable for me. Primarily, I went to experience aerial yoga. In being one to try new things, and being confident in my abilities to enjoy the class, I signed up. My first experience was an aerial restorative class. And these are just plain fun lol. I saw a lot more diversity in these classes than the traditional aerial yoga classes I attended in my time there. And perhaps this is because the class is not as physically demanding, so it is more approachable. Overall, I did not plan to stay at this studio. And even now, I do not plan to attend outside of an occasional one-off class participation.
Looking back, I can see how in attempting to find a studio where I felt comfortable settling in, I had neglected my practice some. Personal accountability comes first and foremost, of course. And on many occasions, I avoided my mat instead of finding time on it because I was judging my practice before it would even start. Luckily though, in the time between, I had begun to use social media to supplement these classes. I found wonderful creators of diverse representation that inspired me. BIPOC, Trans and Non-Binary Folks, yogi’s of various body types and skill levels. A lot of these individuals I have had the pleasure of getting to know in some capacities: @Journey2Antoinette @LittleYogi_Jay @Superdopemin @TransInTransit @BrodhiBarlett @Beautiful_LoveYoga . I joined in their yoga challenges, attended their IG live classes and have been able to connect with them. In witnessing their journey’s I was inspired to continue mine on AND off of my mat. Most of these individuals are teachers, healers and wellness professionals that I encourage you to check out!
