Yoga CLASS

A (dear sweet) friend has (kindly and lovingly) encouraged me to get into (better) shape. As my BIG 5-0 birthday is a mere 385 days away, I have been monitoring my health (which is pretty darn good), my weight (which is something that is ALWAYS on my mind) and constantly evaluating my physique.
Which, I'll admit, it needs a little work. Sure, I run around at work (sometimes 10+ miles) and I am always on the go--but it's (obviously) not doing the trick.
Let me be really honest here, I have NO reason to not workout. I am home by 3:00 almost everyday and could be at the gym for several hours before most people get off work. I won't go so far as to say that I am lazy, but I do like to nap, blog, watch baseball and catch up on Facebook in the afternoons....
Once in a while I'd go all out and 'power walk' to my mailbox...but that was it.
Pitiful.
And so, with (a big dose of) encouragement, a recent step on the scale (which is creeping back up) and a reality check of ALL the reasons I SHOULD go workout...
I went back to yoga yesterday.
And, just so you know I'm totally into this, I'll let you know that I went back again TODAY!
And I loved it. Seriously.
Sure, my tummy (and thigh and glute) muscles are hurting tonight and I'm ready for bed here at 8:23pm, but DAMN did it feel good! I do believe, it is the perfect workout for me. It's calm. It's quiet. They remind you to breathe! The instructor tells you to let go of your worries, to stop thinking about where you need to go after class and to BE HERE NOW. I also love that there's built in 'resting' periods...child's pose is sheer heaven after a dozen or so side reclining leg lifts! I can feel my body reacting in all the places it needs assistance!
And I feel good when I'm there. I am not the oldest or the largest or the least coordinated. Not even close. I watched myself in the mirror yesterday and was just a tad bit proud that I could hold poses, balance on one foot, and get my toes to touch the ground behind my head! And, I know it's the only place where I am actually supposed to be wearing my (not so attractive, but always comfortable and WAY overly-worn) yoga pants.

Interestingly, there was a different teacher today than there was yesterday and she (strongly and often) encouraged us to close our eyes as much as possible. I quickly realized that as flexible and well-balanced as I am, I am virtually useless with my eyes closed. Well, that and I have to look around and everyone else to make sure I'm doing everything right. I'm usually going left when the rest of the class is going right. (Always has been a trick for me to follow a teacher who faces the class...my left or theirs??)

I'll take a day off from working out tomorrow, but signed up to do PiYo on Wednesday.
Apparently it's yoga with a little bit of pilates action for added excitement.

Hey, as long as I can keep my eyes open--and I'm encouraged to wear my yoga pants--
I'm in.