Hot Yoga.
I've always wanted to try it and the minute I walked into Kelowna Hot Yoga Studio, I knew 1 of 2 things would happen. 1- I would either hate it or love it and 2- I was going to die in the process.
I showed up for my first class and it was so hot, it stopped me dead in my tracks. My good friend Tara was with me and when she saw the look of terror on my face, she did what any good friend would do....laugh.
So far - I really love it. These classes have been by far some of the hardest workouts I have ever done. Every one is a challenge and I enjoy being able to do things that, 3 weeks ago, I couldn't (the only exception is something called the 'corpse pose'- you lay flat on your back in 104 degree heat and try to not fall asleep. This... I pretty much nailed right off the bat).
The biggest thing I have learned so far came from one class a couple months ago. The teacher said something very simple... "place your foot. Do not put your foot. There is a difference between placing and putting". After muttering under my breath about where I'd really like to "place" my foot, I began to grasp how important that small sentence was to the rest of my life and not just my downward dog.
What she wanted, was for all of us to do everything with intention; a purpose. This is such good advice for almost situation in life. Work, relationships, almost every interaction benefits from the simple question "what do I intend to happen?" How many times have I been in a situation where after I end up thinking- "that did not go the way I planned." or "that is not at all what I intended".
What this teacher was asking us to do was place our intentions first. Think about what we wanted to have happen BEFORE it happened. If all you want to do is comfort a friend going through a tough time - knowing that going in may prevent you from sarcastically suggesting she change her decision making paradigm when it comes to dating and maybe then she wouldn't end up with such doorknobs for boyfriends (based on an actual conversation from 1995).
Thinking about what I want the outcome to be changes the words I use in the moment. It changes the entire conversation. It changes my actions in the situation. It's not always easy, but it is worth it.
