This is how awkward I feel in a 1 on 1 yoga class

Ever show up for a yoga class just to find out that you’re the only student? Most people would be thrilled for a $7 one-on-one yoga session with an expert.  Not me. I like to blend my non-bendy body and jagged breaths  into a crowd. This is admittedly hard because at 6 feet tall I tend to quite literally stand out. There was no hiding my clumsy body from my yoga instructor and he apparently didn’t want to hide his from me in a 100% spandex outfit.

Instead of just proceeding with the class, he wanted to engage in a long conversation about what type of yoga I like, what positions I wanted to concentrate on etc, etc. Again, a lot of people would be thrilled about this situation but as he asked more and more questions in an attempt to accommodate me, I just kept thinking. “Crap. Now I’m not going to get a good workout.” The reason I knew I wouldn’t get a a good workout is because I would cop out on the tough poses and typical challenges that go along with a class filled with moderately experienced yogis.

When given the option of a difficult task or an easier task, I will almost always do what I perceive to be simpler or faster. I once took a personality test that told me that my main characteristic is “likes to save effort.” It’s absolutely true. I won’t go back even 4 aisles in the grocery store if I forget something. It’s too much effort; I’ll just do without. As you can imagine, exercise is difficult for me owing to the fact that the main characteristic of exercise is effort. This is a real problem for me.

So now I’m trapped with Mr. Spandex and he keeps giving me options like, “We could do Fish or Dancer or Blah-vanassana now. Would you like that?”

“No thanks,” I reply. The poor guy had to go through about 200 different poses before he found the 5 that I was willing to do. Then I asked if the class could be over early. He apologized profusely which I didn’t understand. I am clearly the one with the issue here. I actually had to use the, “it’s not you, it’s me” line on him.

You might be wondering where the nugget of business wisdom is in this TMI post. Me too…tune in next time for the answer.