Finding Your Tribe

Just so you know I have tried about every type of workout class/club you can imagine: zumba, step aerobics, pilates, barre, yoga, running, spinning, lifting, circuit training, pole dancing, TRX, swimming and there’s probably some others I've forgotten. The thing about me is that I will try the thing, at least once, and I usually do enjoy the thing, at least once. I used to think running was my thing, was part of a running club for a time, ran more than a few half marathons, much to the chagrin of my shins, trained for a few fulls, much to the chagrin of my femur, and I really did think, for a time, that these were my people. I had actually found my tribe. I will admit that running did get me through some pretty dark times, but the thing I learned about runners is that once you get injured, and I would often get injured, you quite being part of that club, especially when it happens all of the time, and the other runners, the less injury prone ones, never quite understood why my legs, knees, ankles, femur would constantly give out on me.  Like maybe it was something that I was doing, not that my body was screaming that this type of exercise shouldn’t be my thing, even though the endorphin rush was next level.

It hasn't just been running that has spoken to me, but yoga has as well. I actually realized the other day that I have joined a yoga studio in pretty much every city I have lived or visited for a sustained period of time. Some of the studios I have liked, some have just been mediocre at best, but it’s a practice that I have consistently found that I come back to time and time again.

I remember the first time I ever tried yoga.  I was in college.  For whatever reason I had bought an MTV introduction to yoga workout video.  You remember the 90s, early 2000s workout videos don’t you?  They used to be quite the popular thing.  After my first yoga experience I was never so sore and so relaxed in all my life, which is a really weird combination when you think about it.

It's important to note here that it's not just the type of exercise that dictates finding your tribe, but it's the place as well and the people that inhabit said place. I do believe that I have found my place. It helps that I have friends that attend this particular studio and we usually grab a coffee or another fun beverage after the Sunday morning class, which makes everything feel rosy and a bit more delightful. 

A side note here: One of my favorite things to do is sweat out my poor decisions from the night before and then destroy most of the good work I've done with one delicious, but I know toxic, drink after the other. Some may call this self deprecating behavior, but I call it a good time.

Another reason why I love this particular studio is the absence of mirrors.   Mirrors drive me into somewhat of a panic if I’m being honest.  All I can focus on is the parts of me that I hate and then I quickly spiral soon after.  I forget about the workout as my mind goes to reprimanding the person that I am with the person that I should be.  Without mirrors dictating my mood I am free to picture myself as a swan or a ballerina or a gazelle and I actually, for a moment, convince myself that I am. 

But the part I think I like the most about yoga is that it starts slow and ends slow.  The older I've become the more I find that I need that reprieve.  My body, my mind, craves the slow windup and then the slow wind down instead of always hitting everything so mighty and hard.

It’s nice to finally find my niche and the people that inhabit that space.  I shouldn’t be too surprised that my tribe is people who are typically granola crunching, incense burning, flowy clothes wearing, and most importantly save their judgements for the perimeters of their mind, as well as also inhabiting their own idiosyncrasies.  For example, in my studio there is an older, white haired lady who looks like she has done yoga her entire life.  I imagine she has quite the extensive garden and a golden doodle dog named Marly.  Then there’s this older man who always does his own thing.  The instructor may say to lay in savashana and he does a headstand, or when pyramid pose is called he immediately goes to downward facing dog.  You get the idea.  But my favorite is glasses wearing, probably also loves to run man. He’s as loud as he is obnoxious.  When the class is instructed to breathe, his is the breath you hear, when groans are sprinkled in unison around the room when a pose is held a second or two longer than comfortable, he has to make a witty or not so witty remark.   But it all makes everything so much more interesting.

I’m lucky to also find a yoga studio in Mexico, although it's a little more intense. It too refuses to have mirrors, takes things slow before building in intensity, but I find that I'm ready for it, because I've prepared my mind, my body, for the journey. And that's what yoga really is, a journey to discover what your body can do for you to be proud of it for a time and the tribe that is included is just the added bonus.