Yoga

For quite a while I have been searching for a Pilates studio  in my area that wasn't ultra expensive. This never happened. But I recently came across a yoga studio with moderate prices. And it's a five-minute walk from my apartment!

So, the weekend before last, I found myself ready to go do a trial class. I put on my workout clothes, grabbed a water bottle, and checked the website for the 30th time to make sure I would be in the right place at the right time. Naturally, I had already scoped out the location the week before *just in case*.

I arrived earlier than the suggested early arrival time. I wasn't sure if there was any paperwork or how how the paying process would be handled. At 10:35, I was standing outside of the door for the 11am class. I rang the bell. Nothing. I tried to open the door. Nothing.

While I waited, I just kept moving around. I read a historical sign on the outside of the building. And then I decided to ring the bell every five minutes or so. There were no signs of human life. Finally, at 10:50, I decided to try the door again. This time it magically opened. (I think I didn't really try hard enough the first time).

Now, at least, I could wait inside where it was just a bit warmer. Then I did hear some signs of life, but it was for a meditation and well-being group in the room next to the yoga room. I politely waited until 11:00 when I was sure there definitely no yoga.

So I went to church instead.

The next day, I sent an email to the studio asking if the website was accurate. I received a very apologetic email and was informed that classes didn't start up until November. So, I marked the Tuesday evening class down in my calendar and moved on.

Last night, I was pretty excited, and a little nervous, for class. I put on my workout clothes and my rain gear and made my way over, on the early side of course. I arrived at 7:10 and decided to wait on the inside. I was confused that I didn't see anyone leaving at 7:15 from the previous class. Again, I saw no one! It was one of those moments where you're like, "Seriously, what am I missing here?!"

At 7:26 I decided to give up -- confused and sad. As I exited the building, I suddenly saw a woman with a yoga mat. But she was going to a different door. Maybe I was at the wrong door? I asked if she was here for yoga (duh!). She was.  Then all of a sudden another woman appeared. We all went back inside together. By the time we reached the top of the stairs there were six of us.

Apparently, this is a new location, so everyone had trouble with parking or locating it. Big sigh of relief.

It was a lovely 1.5 hours. It was my first yoga class and I really jumped right in. Thankfully, I have done Pilates before, or I think I would have been pretty confused. Not to mention that it was in German. Throughout the class, I noticed that one of the other women was an American, but I didn't want to out myself...yet. I did end up mentioning it when he didn't believe this was my first ever yoga class and when I was almost offered the student discount.

The class was exactly what I needed. It wasn't too hard, but it definitely kicked my butt a little. Plus, our instructor went around and helped and corrected us if we weren't doing something 100% correctly, which was new for me. But helpful indeed.

I left feeling strong and exhausted. I skipped the Frauen Power Tee (girl power tea) this time, but drank plenty of water.

My only disappointment was that I expected to go home and fall quickly into a deep and well-deserved sleep. Not so much. I'm going to blame it on the scaffolding covering flapping around in the wind (construction should now be finished by the end of the month...I think I've heard that before...). But maybe a little bit was knowing that the whole world was tuned into US election results and I just had to sit and wait until morning.

Can't wait for next Tuesday.