Blog I don’t Belong in Yoga

Let me tell you a few things about my self that you might not know…

I am dyslexic (explains all the spellos and missing words in my writing doesn’t it)– I was diagnosed in school and received extra help through high school. This means I learn differently, and I function differently. I have ALWAYS felt different.

I have never fancied David Beckham – nope not ever, not even when all my friends did. This made me different.

My brain and mouth are not always connected, which means I say things without thinking quite often and this sometimes causes me trouble!

I DO NOT I repeat DO NOT believe in any diets, especially slimming world, weight watchers etc. This can make me very unpopular with people.

So why am I sharing these things with you? Its not just so you know a little bit more about who runs Orange Bloom but also to illustrate a point. I know what I’m talking about when it comes to ‘not belonging’.

Before I walked into my first yoga class I was convinced I would look like the odd one out. I was physically fit but I hadn’t been able to touch my toes since I was about 14. I did not feel comfy with chanting, singing or any display of my voice box in a room full of people. I also absolutely did not want to stand on my head.

I must admit the first class I chose did nothing at the start to abate my fears. My teacher was a goddess with mala beads and a tan (it was December!) the room was decorated way cooler than any in my flat, or life for that matter, there was a girl on the front row literally bent in half. In hindsight perhaps picking a hardcore Ashtanga class for my first real go wasn’t the most sensible.

As the teacher guided us through a series of movements that brought literal tears to my eyes and sweat to my brow something in me changed. I stopped worrying about belonging, I forget I was ‘different’ I simply moved, tried to breath and I was concentrating on my own shit for the first time in a very very long time.

Finally it came to the end and I cant say I fell deeply into a savasana relaxation cause quite frankly that’s been the hardest pose for me since day one. What I can say is though leaving the room something had shifted and I knew I would be back. I had forgotten my fears, I had only maybe twice looked over at someone else and thought ‘how the hell’. To be honest I was so busy trying to move and breath the 90 minutes flew by.

So what am I saying? I am saying that YOU belong in yoga. Yes you with the short limbs, long limbs, cellulite, skinny bum, muffin top, pointy elbows, boobs, no boobs, man, women, non-binary, balanced, unbalanced, young, old, tall, short, tanned, see through and anything in between.

Not every yoga class is going to be for you, some teachers perhaps even me wont inspire you the way you need to be inspired. You may enjoy a faster paced flowing class, you might engage with the stillness of Yin. No matter what though you belong in the class that will feed your body, mind and spirit.

I once heard a wonderful phrase ‘ the opposite to belonging is fitting in’. You never ‘fit in’ at yoga, you make it your own, you listen to your body and you belong on YOUR mat.

So what are you waiting for?