Operation Flat Belly - Om My God!

Economom Amie's musings on shedding her post-baby weight, also known as Operation Flat Belly.

No, it's not a typo. It's the best way I can describe my experience with yoga this week. Like I said, Om my God!

Three days later, and I'm still sore. And in places that I didn't even know I could be sore. Hello, elbow muscles!?!?

I used to be somewhat of a yoga buff. My mom and I decided to try a class on a whim almost three years ago, and we were hooked. We started going once a week, then twice a week, and before we knew it we were there Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.

While my mom stuck with it (you should see how hot of a grandmother she is!), my participation slowly but surely waned amidst a short stint living in Pennsylvania, the demand of my MBA classes, and my purse strings tightening up a bit. Fast forward two years, and there I was this past Thursday evening laying out my mat, post-baby belly rolls and all, for the first time in a long, long time.

I have to admit I was pretty nervous. My mom and I are devoted to a particular instructor because he's the opposite of how you might envision a traditional yoga teacher. No soft voices, corny sayings, and "I might as well be sleeping" routines. Instead, he leads an athletic class to the backdrop of bands like Led Zeppelin.

He's right up our alley, but here's the thing. His class is considered to be at the three diamond level, the most challenging available. As the yoga studio's web site says, "This class is NOT RECOMMENDED for beginners."

Okay, so I'm not exactly a beginner. But I hadn't done his class in two years. That's 24 months. Or 730 days. 730!!! So yep, I was pretty nervous.

Would all the people there be super fit and look ten times better than me? Would I be able to last the full hour and a half of the class? Would I pass out from the heat (the temp of the room is cranked up to around 90 degrees)?

Well, I am proud to say I made it! And I didn't make a fool out of myself. Granted, my face was red as a fire truck and I was dripping--literally dripping--with sweat afterwards. And I couldn't keep my balance on several of the poses. Heck, I couldn't even DO some of the poses, period!! But I tried, and I tried my best.

It was a reality check to not be able to hold many of the positions that I used to be able to whip out so easily. Exercises that required my core were particularly difficult, and I think that was compounded by my recent C-section. While it was somewhat disheartening, the experience has also inspired me to get back to where I was before.

I now have a fire in me to get my forearms strong enough to hold me in Crow position again. I want my stomach muscles to firm up enough to last in Plank for longer than 30 seconds. I look forward to being flexible enough to do the full bind of the Half Lord of the Fishes pose again. (If you don't know what these poses are, look them up in Google Images and try them out. Yoga is tougher than many think!)

So yes, Om my God! Yoga was hard this week. But I'll be back on Tuesday to try it again!