Yoga Also Rules

Okay, so I am suffering in a crazy way right now with sore legs, ass, abs, and arms, but sweet lord above. I feel amazing.

After the thrill of yesterday's pilates class, I decided to venture all by my lonesome once again to give power yoga a shot. My mother-in-law (an avid yoga-babe since the 70s) warned me that, among all the related classes she's ever taken, power yoga was the one she never tried twice. Did this discourage me? Of course not, it indeed spurred my sick competitive nature forward. Besides, it's yoga. How freaking difficult could it be? I can run my heart out for an hour or more without thinking twice -- surely it would be stretching my body into unusual and challenging formations, but there was no threat of exhaustion. Right?

Sigh.

I arrived to meet the teacher and only one other girl in the class. The other girl was explaining that she'd done a headstand for the first time yesterday. Um. No big deal. Another girl arrived and I was pleased to discover that she too was new to the art. The teacher looked ever-so-slightly concerned, but it was time to start, so off we went to grab blocks and get going.

After something like eleven minutes (okay, exactly like -- I was checking the watch like a crazy person), I was convinced that there was no.flipping.way I was going to make it through.

By some miracle, I pushed. And I pushed. And I pushed more. And I breathed. And I shook like crazy. And I balanced in a seated position on one foot with my in-the-air-ankle on my floor-leg-knee. And I did it. Pose after quick movement to new pose after staying in some other pose for what felt like days, an hour and fifteen minutes was over. Sure I couldn't keep my heels on the ground for downward dog, and sure I lost my balance and knocked over my own block on some single-footed-other-foot-high-in-the-air thingo, but I did it.

Joy.

Not just at being done -- though that miracle, in and of itself, was worth celebrating and feeling exceptionally tough over -- but at how great it felt.

In short: I am a convert. I can't wait to go again.