mat men diaries: jimi

week 1

I showed up to my first yoga class – a level 1-2 and most of my fellow classmates had already arrived and set up in anticipation. This class felt as if I was back in primary school P.E. and there were times when it seemed the teacher was just ‘winging’ it. They did seem to be a great teacher, we just weren’t compatible. It’s so important to have a good connection with someone you’re learning from. When I got home I got lost in thought and became deflated and started to question if I was right for this trial.

However, I went back to the booking board. This time I decided I needed more intention to what I was actually hoping to accomplish by the end of the month. Then something caught my eye – ‘Yoga for Stress.’ The next day I arrived with a negative head. I was stressed that day, whilst outside the studio waiting for the previous class to end I could see the other students were stressed, when the teacher commenced the class he announced he was stressed. Stress acknowledged we moved forward. I am so glad I booked this class. One of those times when you receive what you needed when you didn’t expect to. Within a few moments I had clicked with the teacher, Howard Napper. His insights and knowledge resonated with me. He also asks those profound questions I do when my mind’s racing in the early hours of morning, trying to switch off and rest. I’m never truly present and this drags me down. This is relevant because I struggle immensely during the meditation periods of yoga classes to switch off and end up staring at the ceiling.

My final class of the week was Chris Miller’s ‘Yoga for Sports’. I went for this class because he describes how he suffered a back injury and found strength again through yoga. Being 6’5” I have plenty of back problems so I wanted to give it a try. The class description also mentioned working on increasing lung capacity which appealed to me because I do love a good swim. Don’t be fooled by Chris’s lulling of security at the start, he works you. For a moment I imagined myself in an S.A.S. camp where quitting meant failure to reach your goal then as my fitness levels were reaching their limit, he would give some assurance, and I realised the struggle will be less next week. Afterwards I was so energised; I spent the rest of the afternoon playing with my puppy, Rudi.

I’ll leave it there for now. I’d like to thank all the teachers from this week.

Check back here to see how Jimi gets on throughout weeks 2, 3 and 4…

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