A girl's worst nightmare...you bend over to pick something up, or in the case of yoga, forward fold, and your pants split right down the seams, exposing your undies or bare derriere for the entire class to see. Fortunately, my wardrobe malfunction was not nearly that severe (it has happened before, though, while dropping it like its hot at a bar in Chicago), but darn well close enough!
This past weekend, I participated in a special yoga practice that consisted of a photo shoot for this amazingly awesome yoga shirt line (as soon as I have more info regarding the clothes and how to order, I'll definitely post). Per the designer's request, black or dark blue bottoms were required, the tops would be provided. Like most other women, I did a mental inventory of all of my yoga pants (not that there's a lot to go through). Immediately, I knew just what to wear: my super cute, black snap up capris that I just adore to death. They're comfy, perfectly adorable, and supposedly designed for yoga. Now, I've worn these capris to many yoga classes without a hitch (or so I thought). Bear in mind, most of these yoga classes have been done in dimly lit rooms or at night. This particular class was a little different...it was held during the middle of the day and in Urban Yoga's studio which has a floor to ceiling windowed wall. HELLO NATURAL LIGHTING!!!
Here comes the super juicy part...I bend over to shuffle my yoga mat around and move on to converse with Claudia, one of my yoga instructors. A few minutes later my next door mat neighbor graciously grabs my attention. She softly whispers to me that when I bent over earlier, she happened to see my thong. Immediately, I felt my face turn a violent shade of red. On a side note, I have self-diagnosed myself with being highly vascularized and that's why I blush, flush, or turn red on a dime. Anyone who knows me can attest to that. So, I start running through my head how she could've seen my flourescent green and blue polk-a-dotted undies. The waistband of my capris stays very secure throughout my entire practice, so that couldn't have been it. Was she thinking of the right person? There were quite a few people in the room, maybe she had me mixed up for someone else. I mean, it had to have been someone else's undies she had seen when they were bending over. So Claudia chimes in and we give the forward fold another go with her eyes on my rear. Sure enough...these awesomely cute, specially designed for yoga capri tights are SEE THROUGH!!!! OMG!!!!
At this point there are only two options: 1) go au natural and have my now panty-less tush and other girlie parts exposed still to everyone or 2) grin through it and hope that if the photographer catches a glimpse of it in a pic, that it can be photo-shopped out. Fortunately, the only ones who would be getting a face full of my thong sliced moon was Claudia, Seth, my very observant mat neighbor, or my good yoga friend Chris and that's if they're even paying any attention. Ultimately, I settled for option two and managed through a very fun and challenging class. Lesson learned!
So here are a couple things to take away from this if you want to avoid mooning the entire class when you practice yoga: when shopping for new yoga pants/tights/capris, etc...make sure to try out a couple of yoga poses while you're wearing them, especially forward fold. Stand in a well lit area and make sure you have a mirror behind you to check for any indiscretions that may appear. If you absolutely love the pants and decide to purchase them but are still insecure about showing off your behind, consider wearing them to a darker lit yoga class or stand in the back of the room. What happens with some yoga tights is that when the fabric gets taut, it separates slightly exposing anything (or nothing) that's hiding underneath. This typically happens with a cotton blend tight rather than one that's nylon/lycra. If you're unsure about your current yoga garb, try it at home or find a friendly person in class to scope it out for you. :)
What I LOVE about yoga:
#1: It has a way of keeping you in check, mentally, PHYSICALLY (inside and out), and emotionally :)
Peace and love all,
Melissa
Friday, July 6, 2012
Saturday, June 30, 2012
My name is Melissa Baker, and I am a yoga addict!
First and foremost, WELCOME and thank you so much for checking out my blog! I hope it continues to pique your interest and you decide to follow it. Trust me, there are some great adventures for us to be had together; some that will make you laugh, others that will hopefully get you to try something new, and maybe even some that you have experienced yourself in your own yoga practice. Now, bear with me, though. I'm a first time blogger and definitely qualify as a novice. Any advice on how to make this thing awesome is greatly appreciated :).
So here's a bit of background regarding myself and my yoga practice. I have been practicing yoga on a consistent basis (a minimum of 4 times a week) for a little less than two years. At one point in my practice, I took it to the extreme and challenged myself (yes, on my own) to complete 40 practice hours of yoga in 40 days (the brain cells may have been misfiring when I decided to take on this task). Talk about being hooked, right? There would be no possible way that I would have been able to complete that if it wasn't for Rene, Claudia, and Seth, my mentors. These three magnificent instructors have really helped mold me into the little yogini I am today. They all have guided me in my vinyasa practice and have helped me learn how to be patient, mindful, and gracious for what I have been given. I literally, couldn't have asked for better guidance!
As we age and take our first steps in unexpected territories, the only way we tend to remember it is if it was either great or awful. Tell you what... I will never forget my first real "hard core" yoga studio styled class, and it wasn't because it was awful. Talk about an overwhelming feeling of intimidation, though!!! Fortunately, I have always been pretty athletic, and my background as a high school cheerleader gave me more flexibility than I could ask for, even after ten years since my last go at splits. Nonetheless, I tucked myself and my pink yoga mat in the far back corner of the class because I had NO idea what to expect and I most certainly didn't want to look completely clueless for everyone to see. The lights dimmed, Rene (our yoga instructor) stepped to the front of the class, and turned up the heat. Here we go...class began, I sweated my brains out, and tried so hard to make it not look blatantly obvious that I was a newbie. Crazy enough, I was HOOKED. After that first class, I was reeling for more and couldn't wait for the next opportunity to roll out my mat. As my practice grew, my side angle pose became easier and the next thing I knew I was able to bind it. I remember hearing Rene call out to my peers in that first class to transition into bakasana (crow pose) and as I watched the other students put their knees on their triceps and take flight, I literally thought to myself "WHHHATTTTTT....you want me to do that?!?!". With practice and a little bit of confidence, it now comes easily and gracefully to the point that if I see a solid boulder while hiking and I want to take flight off of it right then and there!
So here's a bit of background regarding myself and my yoga practice. I have been practicing yoga on a consistent basis (a minimum of 4 times a week) for a little less than two years. At one point in my practice, I took it to the extreme and challenged myself (yes, on my own) to complete 40 practice hours of yoga in 40 days (the brain cells may have been misfiring when I decided to take on this task). Talk about being hooked, right? There would be no possible way that I would have been able to complete that if it wasn't for Rene, Claudia, and Seth, my mentors. These three magnificent instructors have really helped mold me into the little yogini I am today. They all have guided me in my vinyasa practice and have helped me learn how to be patient, mindful, and gracious for what I have been given. I literally, couldn't have asked for better guidance!
As we age and take our first steps in unexpected territories, the only way we tend to remember it is if it was either great or awful. Tell you what... I will never forget my first real "hard core" yoga studio styled class, and it wasn't because it was awful. Talk about an overwhelming feeling of intimidation, though!!! Fortunately, I have always been pretty athletic, and my background as a high school cheerleader gave me more flexibility than I could ask for, even after ten years since my last go at splits. Nonetheless, I tucked myself and my pink yoga mat in the far back corner of the class because I had NO idea what to expect and I most certainly didn't want to look completely clueless for everyone to see. The lights dimmed, Rene (our yoga instructor) stepped to the front of the class, and turned up the heat. Here we go...class began, I sweated my brains out, and tried so hard to make it not look blatantly obvious that I was a newbie. Crazy enough, I was HOOKED. After that first class, I was reeling for more and couldn't wait for the next opportunity to roll out my mat. As my practice grew, my side angle pose became easier and the next thing I knew I was able to bind it. I remember hearing Rene call out to my peers in that first class to transition into bakasana (crow pose) and as I watched the other students put their knees on their triceps and take flight, I literally thought to myself "WHHHATTTTTT....you want me to do that?!?!". With practice and a little bit of confidence, it now comes easily and gracefully to the point that if I see a solid boulder while hiking and I want to take flight off of it right then and there!
Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Hike May 2012
There are so many things that I absolutely LOVE about yoga, and I can't wait to share them all with you! If you ever given yoga a try, what was your first experience like? Do you remember the style of yoga you practiced? I can't wait to read all of your stories!!!
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