So that's what it looks like...

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I love Yin yoga, it's all about working on the connective tissues and does wonders for my 80yr old hips. I've had massive issues with my hips and lower joints since I was pregnant with Grace.  I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the 70+ pounds I gained while I was pregnant with her...

The pain keeps me up a lot and stops me from doing a lot of stuff. It's a catch-22. It hurts to exercise though exercise makes it feel better, but then worse all at the same time. I tried Yin probably 6 months ago or so and fell in love!!  The poses are held for 3-5 minutes each so you get a good deep stretch.  I leave class feeling so relaxed and sleep like a gravol-fed baby.  However, it usually only lasts a few days, and then I'm back to my regular 80yr old self.  I really should do them every night, but well we all know how well that goes....me and consistency do not go well together.

Imagine my excitement when I saw that Emilie was doing a Yin-Yang class. Two hours! Sign me up!  A little yin, a little yang (regular yoga)....and some meditation.  I'm not really a meditation type of person...frankly, I don't get it.  It seems to me like daydreaming...which I do quite regularly at work...so hey, I'll give it a go! 

She says she doesn't want us to face the mirrors and I was like SCORE!! I hate looking at myself anyway so we turn around and begin class.  Breathing exercises, some meditation stuff...I still don't "get it", but it was relaxing so maybe that's the point!?  She starts with some yin poses, and I'm lovin' it!  Feeling the stretch in my hips is like the big "O"...it makes me sleepy and happy.

She says we're going to ease into some yang poses, which I'm really ready for cause I'm all stretched out and limber!  Yeah, I should have known, Emilie and 'ease' don't go hand in hand.  She is like the drill sergeant of yoga (in a good way), and we GO GO GO!!!  Updog, down dog, plank, up, down, back, up, down, cat stretch, down again. REPEAT! Pheww....I'm dying already and it's like 3 mins into the yang part.  I'm being all yogi-minded and not judging myself.  I can do this!! I've done Emilie's classes before and survived!! I'm gonna rock this class!

Then it happened....

During a downward-dog, I catch a glimpse of myself between my legs in the mirror.  Remember we are backwards now so while in down dog instead of looking at the back of the room we are now looking at the front, the mirrors, so it was not a nice glimpse.  An "OMG, my ass is a foot away from the mirror...and I'm bent over looking at it, upside down, with my legs hip-width apart.".......WTF?!?  Is that really what it looks like?!  Wait a minute...If I can see my ass....so can the rest of the back row.  So now I'm up/down/up/down...all the while looking at my ass (and of course all the other asses).  I have no watch on, but I'm sure I still have at least 1.5 hrs of ass in my face left.  Is she trying to ruin me forever?!?!  I don't like being front row for a reason...and now my ass is front row for all to see?! 


 (NOT WHAT I LOOK LIKE!!!)

It reminded me of an episode of "The Golden Girls" where they talk about how you should bend over and look at your face in a mirror....that is how you'd look when you are...hmmm..."on top".  I almost died at the thought of it, and started having flash backs of any times I was ever "bent over", ever in my life. (I'm leaving it at that...ya'll know what I mean). 

Thankfully that part of class didn't last as long as I'd expected and we get right back to the yin, and finally more meditation.  I don't know what she did...I'm pretty sure she hypnotised me, but I actually caught myself smiling, and nodding off into la-la-land while sitting upright.  Is that possible?! She took me to my happy place, and that's all that matters...she probably does have magical drill sergeant skills though.  All the teachers are magical in one way or another...

I can't wait to see if she does another, I'll definitely be the first to sign up...and then the first to grab a spot AWAY from the mirrors!