Well, not exactly. Truth be told, I’m feeling a little pain for yesterday’s Zen yoga experience…but still good.

I’ve come to the realization that I’ve been so focused on work and reaching clients, that I’ve been spending far too much time slumped over my desk. Which means more and more creakiness when getting out of (and sadly, sometimes into) bed.

So I cashed in a Groupon-like coupon and headed to one of my local yoga joints.

This place touted itself as being a bit more “funky” than your traditional studio. Instead of the standard new agey blend of music and tones, they go for the straight out rock and pop mix. There was also a lot more cursing and loudly affirming just how “fucking beautiful” we all were than the soft, meditative, contemplative suggestions.

Overall though, I loved everything about the class. And I learned a bit about myself. Like…

• don’t forget to breath – breathing in a pose helps you go deeper into the pose and holding your breath, well, that’s just no bueno (and sadly, a bit of a constricting habit of mine).
• don’t be afraid to close your eyes – this is right up there with remembering to still the mind. Seems I had some challenges here. Don’t know if it was more mind-body related (as closing my eyes messed with my balance) or mental (as I found myself looking at the floor, the walls or the ceiling instead of closing my eyes).
• don’t be afraid to stop thinking – I was able to leave my cares at the door (for the most part), but I did get busted for looking at my iPhone during class (just to check the time). In which case, I’m thinking if I’m wondering about the time, that I’m not quite stilling my mind.
• know when it’s okay to adapt what you’re doing – sometimes you just can’t do 5 push-ups in a row (let alone three sets of them). And let’s be honest, the average yoga newbie is NOT going to be able to go from a plank to a table top…just not gonna happen! So just adapt…downward dog it is!

I will say though, when all was said and done, by the time I made the walk back to my car (and wiped off the dripping sweat – did I mention that they also like to keep the studio warmer than usual?) I was actually feel great.

I feel like I did finally reach that zen and calm moment.

And then the pain kicked in. Turns out all that downward dog and warrior posing means a LOT of stretching muscles that haven’t been stretched quite that much in a while.

I’m already looking forward to next Monday’s class. And I keep telling myself that the recovery from the pain shouldn’t last nearly as long each time I go back 😉  Please tell me I’m not making that up!!!