So I tried yoga last week.

I’m not a graceful person by any means. I spill coffee on my shirt more often that I’d like to admit and I always have bruises appear on my body from randomly hitting things, it’s just kind of how my life goes. I’m like a bull in a china shop, but I’m 5 feet tall so like a baby bull. For fitness I enjoy lifting weights and crying to myself as I finish cardio on any given machine at my local gym. Yoga has always seemed like something long, lean, graceful people do so it honestly hasn’t peaked my interest but I’ve spent this year trying new things so when Balance WF opened up in little ol Wichita Falls I thought to hell with it lets give it a shot!

Now, the first time I attempted yoga I spent 30% of the time trying not to laugh because 70% of the time I was trying not to pass gas. Let’s just be real, #sorrynotsorry. If you ask me to twist myself in a pretzel while trying to keep myself “zen” (whatever that means) it is definitely going to end in injury and giggles. BUT, I kept an open mind and decided to not eat anything questionable 24 hours prior to the class.

First off let me commend Balance for being an absolutely BEAUTIFUL studio. I walked in and automatically felt calm, which is unheard of for my hyperactive self. I kind of went with the flow of the more seasoned yogis in class and just kept picking up the random things they were getting from the shelf. 5 minutes into the prep work that went in to getting my mat ready I was already breaking a sweat and had successfully collected about 2 yoga blocks, a pillow I’m pretty sure that was stuffed with hay, two stretchy ropes, one itchy blanket and the blood of a virgin next to my little mat and was ready to roll. 

Rheagan Ortega was the instructor and she had us start out with a little intro which was nice because like literally, I had no idea what I was doing or what to expect from the class. It was nice to know that there were people of every skill level because there was a front row group full of Bendy Wendys that were extremely intimidating! Like for real is it even natural to be able to bend your body in half? Kudos to you Bendy Wendys, kudos to you. We started out with basic yoga stuff and slowly worked our way into downward dog like idk, 5,342 times. Thirty minutes into this hour class I was dripping sweat and if she said to chaturanga one more time I was sure I was going to either start crying or face-plant or both. Rheagan was an amazing instructor though. She was hands on which I don’t mind at all and was very quick, but polite to correct anyone’s form which was great because I wasn’t trying to throw out my hip in my first yoga class. She even came back to the back row full of wide eyed newbies and coached us into Crow Pose, which if you don’t know what that is (like I didn’t), it is like this weird little mini handstand that your thighs are hugging your arms but your feet are off the ground….crazy right? BUT! Rheagan was patient and successfully coached us into the pose and I was so excited and so proud of myself! Thank you Rheagan!

If you’re looking to switch things up and try something new, or are already a wise ol yogi and looking to get involved in a new studio I definitely recommend Balance! I was so excited to see something new and fun come to Wichita Falls and look forward to expanding my yoga horizons with them! I plan on trying out their new Barre class as well which I’m tempted to record because I feel like I’m not even going to be able to put in to words how ridiculous I will look!