Although i have practised yoga on and off for15 years, my regular weekly practise has only happened for the last two and a half years. Throughout my relationship with yoga, I have tried many different strands of what is a beautiful discipline. Firstly with Iyengar, then Hatha, Anusara and now Ashtanga. I have fallen in love with Ashtanga yoga. It has a beauty about it, coupled with extreme discipline that is addictive. It is also (I believe) one of the purest forms of yoga and stands tall amongst the onslaught of celebrity yoga's that are flooding the market at the moment. Sarah encouraged me to try Ashtanga as she is a fan and has been practising Ashtanga regularly for the last ten years.
Due to an injury in her back Sarah and I had decided to have a relaxed wander round and so had not signed up for any workshops. We sampled teas, back massages, a very strange form of meditation with people waving their arms behind us which reminded me very much of an episode of friends in which Phoebe picks at Ross' bad aura. Finally we got our asses moving in a taster workshop with the wonderful (and slightly sexy) Michael Gannon. Although just 30 minutes it really was an incredible experience to witness his yoga in action.I also bought two incredibly pretty scarves and after sampling different teas, finally settled on purchasing these which I can tell you are incredibly tasty and calming.
So continuing on with my fitness regime, i went to my normal Body Combat class on Monday and then for a quick swim at the gym on Tuesday. It is here that i discovered that I must be a complete prude. I am one of those that when in a communal changing room takes underwear off as discreetly as possible. Or if getting dressed after a shower, gets underwear on as quickly as possible. I am reasonable happy to wander around in my undies but would not wander round completed naked. Well it would seem that i am completely on my own in this. A packed aqua aerobics class emptied into the changing room and without fail all of them were not only skipping around naked, but bending over to apply lotion, coming over to chat to me - the list goes on. I would so love to have that amount of confidence in my body but I obviously i don't. Am i alone in this? Am i the only one who feels inhibited in such an environment?
On a final note, have you ever seen the site called Misi. It is a lovely site, obviously similar to Folksy and Etsy but very nice nonetheless. The teacup that you can see in the link arrived on Monday and it is truly beautiful and smells gorgeous. Check it out.Still nothing on the sewing front but i have high hopes for this afternoon and tomorrow. I am just off now to interview a photographer for the gallery which will appear on their blog. Plus another interview with an artist this evening. Any tips gratefully received.
Oooh, I love your teacup. I've never tried yoga, though a friend I used to have was always speaking of how good it made her feel. Hope you've managed to fit some sewing in.
ReplyDeleteGood for you that you're exercising. Yoga is something that I want to get back to but for now my top priority is running. It's very exciting to me since I never was able to do it, and now that I'm middle-aged, and seriously over-weight, still I'm getting in shape.
ReplyDeleteAs for the nakedness I have the exact opposite problem. It used to be that in the communal showers we would remove our bathing suits and just shower, but these days I see all the women leaving their bathing suits on. Which doesn't get you really clean. And now I feel weird for removing mine.
In the changing rooms I just dress and undress as usual. Fir me this has nothing to do with how I feel about my body. Polite people don't really look anyway.
I find that as well (we do go to the same gym though!). When I first joined I would run to the little cubicles to get dressed. I have since changed and I now just try to put my underwear on/off whilst hidden under the cover off my towel. Not an easy feat when you're 6 stone overweight, even with a massive bath sheet! I am happy to wander round in my trousers and bra, except for when rude ladies tell me off, but I don't usually wander round in my undies. I'd love to have the body confidence to wander round naked, and maybe some day I will, but until that day I will just remain as I am, just me!
ReplyDeleteThe teacup is lovely, I have been banned from buying anymore candles, from both my boyfriend and my mother!
funny thing body image and confidence isnt it? I don't think it is about how you look to others as Suzanne is correct generally people dont look but it is how you feel to yourself
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