Intentionally

At the beginning of a yoga class you always set your intention of what you want to get out of it. Improve your focus. Work on stretching your hips. Strengthen your arms. Reduce stress. Whatever your intention is it allows you to focus on you and not compete against the other people in the class. Yoga is personal and what you put into it is what you will get out of it. This is one of the things I love most about yoga.

Last night at hip hop class our instructor, DLucky, turned to us midway through and told us to set our intention. Intentions for a hip hop class? Why not! The first thought I had was to not pass out half way through the push ups section. Then I realized there were so many intentions I could set ... lose the pounds I have been wanting to get rid of, flatten out the almost 6 year old baby belly, create those slender and defined arms, perfect my booty pop. The list could go on and on ...

Earlier in the day I was thinking of any excuse I could to get out of the hip hop class. I was really not looking forward to how hard the push ups would be or how sore I would feel the next day. I took a nap in the afternoon and woke up really excited about dancing up a serious sweat for an hour with a fabulous group of ladies (Theresa, Mary and Beth). I realized that one hour in the dance room was my time -- something I very rarely get -- and I wasn't about to give it up.

By the end of class last night my arms and legs felt like they had been tenderized. I knew that today getting out of bed would be hard and the simplest motion like putting on my bra would be agonizing. But, I had a HUGE smile on my face and was ready for next weeks class. My intention to live in the moment and enjoy that time away from my daily responsibilities allowed me to work on that long list of intentions I could have made.

Hip hop hooray!