Salute to the Sun

[Pix of Coach Lori from the HipAHA website]

"A photographer gets people to pose for her. A yoga instructor gets people to pose for themselves."

I came across this quote and thought that it fit perfectly after this morning's morning yoga session on the beach.  I have to say...I LOVED it!  I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed the experience --- not just the calming and quiet time, but also how much muscular strength and flexibility it took to keep up.

I'll admit that last night I went back and forth when I was setting my alarm trying to determine if I wanted to check out this 7:30 am beach yoga class vs. a 9:00 am weights class at Gold's.  I am SO happy that I went to yoga.

Last night I was feeling pretty banged up --- sore and tired.  After flipping and flopping most of the night I may have only gotten a couple hours of sleep.  As you can imagine when I woke up at 7:00 am I really just wanted to turn over and wait for the 9:00 am class...but life is all about trying new things and putting yourself in sometimes uncomfortable or unfamiliar surroundings.  How else do you learn new things or meet new people if you play if safe and just stick to your normal routine?

After downing a diet coke I dragged myself and my mat to class.

The class was challenging and I was pleasantly surprised that I was not a complete disaster.  Bonus that I felt like a million bucks after that hour of stretching, balancing, strengthening and calming.