Dear First Timer:

You don’t even realize how amazing you were throughout your first class!  You stayed in that hot, sticky, drippy room the entire time.  You followed instruction.  You took a seat when you needed one.  You even found stillness during Savasana.

I know you are doubting these words right now.  I know that you looked at the folks in the front row and had the thought, “That will never be me.  They must have been born with freakish flexibility or godly strength,” but I’m here to tell you that they started the same way you did, following along, trying their best, and wondering how they had found themselves in this crazy yoga class.  The only thing they did that others sometimes do not, is come back. And not just a couple of times, but again and again and again as they looked for a way to master the class, to master their body, their mind, and their breath.  To master their lives.

I wish that for you.  That you come back.  That you try again.  You might have resistance to this practice.  You might find an excuse why it isn’t for you.  It was too hot.  The teacher was too loud, their voice booming through the microphone, so that you cannot even pretend that you cannot hear them.  And at times they even called out your name to encourage or correct you and you wished with every loud beat of your heart pounding in your ears that they would simply leave you alone.  It was too bright and and the mirrors were too much, as you watched your face get an alarming shade of red you had never witnessed before.  You might even have a headache tonight as your body urges you to drink more water and eat better food after you dripped with what seemed like buckets of sweat throughout the class.

I hear you.  Yoga is not easy.  It is a challenge.  Taking up a regular yoga practice is one of the bravest things you can do in life.  It means you are willing to become better than you are today.  It means you are ready to take responsibility for your own life’s story and face yourself on the soul level for at least an hour, day after day, to see where you are locked up both physically and mentally in order to free yourself from past injury and emotional turmoil.  It is more than a workout.  It is a work in.

I hope I see you in my class again.  For me, there’s nothing better than sharing this yoga and I want to share it with you.  I look forward to the day you look in the mirrors and smile at what you see or maybe even pull your mat up to the front row, so you can really get a good look at you and your practice and where you are in that moment.  For someday, if you stick with it, you will find your own strength and your own flexibility, in and out of the studio and you, my friend, will shine.

Sincerely,

Your Yoga Teacher