A New Yoga Class

If you have given yoga a shot and think that it is not for you, bear in mind that a different instructor may take an approach more suited to you, or you could even try out the different types of yoga. As far as I'm aware, the classes I have been to are Hatha yoga classes. But take one look at Groupon, and you will see advertisements for "Hot Yoga"- where the room you are in is very hot - which honestly sounds really uncomfortable to me, but could be your cup of tea.

So far on my Gaisce challenge, I have had 5 different yoga teachers, and for being the same physical activity, it is amazing how significant the differences between the approaches can be. Some yoga classes have left me exhausted, others have just left me feeling nicely stretched, but most recently, I leave yoga feeling calm.

While I have finished the 52 weeks for the "skill" (Ballroom Dancing), I had to put the two other challenge areas on hold, because training to become a teacher does not result in buckets of free time... Now that it is summer, and that the dance classes are finished, I can turn my focus back to both yoga and working in a charity shop.

In the mean-time, I also moved away from Dublin, meaning that I needed to find a new yoga class to join. The great thing about yoga is that no matter where you are in Ireland, you will probably be able to find a class nearby. In UCD they even have Ióga through Irish!

The new classes are a mix of yoga and meditation, and this time my mother has joined me at the classes, which make them a bit more fun. I still have 24 weeks of yoga to go, but I think these classes will be a great stress reliever once term starts back in September.

Yoga...10 months on

After getting a yoga mat for Christmas, I had great intentions of doing yoga each night before bed, but as with most New Year’s Resolutions, that never really came to pass, but I still have made some progress over the last few months. In January I got a bit of a surprise to find one of my lecturers from my master’s course was in my class too!

One of the most interesting things about yoga is the diverse ages, abilities, and flexibilities of the people in the class. No two bodies have the same level of flexibility, and even something as simple as having a cold can dramatically change your ability to hold a pose. At the beginning of each class, the instructor checks to see if anyone has any injuries, and it’s rare someone in the class doesn’t. One class in particular had loads of new people there, somewhere in the range of 40-60 years old, and they were all trying to "one-up" each other on how long it had been since they'd done exercise, and how stiff they felt. This of course gave me the impression that they were going to find the class difficult. How wrong I was. The more they spoke, the more I realised they were all yoga fanatics, and they very comfortably (but also competitively) were doing splits and all sorts of mad poses no problem, while I looked more like an awkward baby elephant.

Not every class leaves you feeling relaxed, or at peace- sometimes it’s simply exhausting. So much so that one student stormed out of one class saying “I’m too old for that sort of thing!”. And although I enjoy the “focusing on your breathing” aspect of yoga, some classes where we start off "stimulating the third eye" leave me a bit bewildered. But in general, I'm really glad I started yoga, and I think it really is helping to minimise my stress levels. It isn't until I'm in the class that I realise how tense I've been holding myself, even down to my facial muscles. During the warmer weather, we did yoga outside on the balcony, over-looking the sea, which was really nice.

Overall, I have to admit that every time I go to yoga class, I can never be sure how it’ll go. Sometimes doing the simplest of poses can trigger lots of cracks and creaks in my joints that really don’t sound good, and other times, I feel like yoga is exactly what my body needed to do. I am seeing a gradual improvement, and it is certainly something I will keep up when I have finished the Gaisce challenge.

Meeting New People

In the space of 2 weeks, I started three new things: dance classes, yoga classes, and volunteering at a charity shop- and didn't know anyone in any of these places. It has been both challenging and incredibly interesting, and in this post I would like to focus on the people I have encountered in my challenge so far.

Myself and Linda
about to start into the Cha Cha Cha

Dance- The Greatest Mood Booster

The dance classes I signed up for were part of a 10 week course, so I have finished the first block now, and I can confidently say I enjoyed every minute. Over the course of the ten weeks, our wonderful teacher, Eithne, has taught us the Foxtrot, the Slow Waltz, the Cha Cha Cha, Swing, Quickstep, and also the Barn Dance (a bit like a Ceili, where everyone continuously changes partners). Eithne is an excellent teacher, so full of enthusiasm and has such a great sense of humour. No matter how my day has gone, I always come away from dance class in a better mood. In the very first week of the course, I met Linda, and due to the imbalance of men and women on the course, we ended up as dance partners for the remaining weeks. Linda is such great fun, but also really determined to get the steps right, and I can't help but smile at the happy little giggle she has whenever we manage a complicated turn. Linda will also be continuing on to the next course this February, so unless more men miraculously appear, I look forward to dancing and having more laughs with Linda.


Yoga

I have really enjoyed getting to know my yoga instructor, Katelyn. She is actually my age too, started practising yoga 5 years ago, began teaching it three years ago, and only in the last year decided to move to Ireland from Canada. I feel very unadventurous in comparison! Most yoga studios have mirrors, but as our one does not, it is difficult to tell if you're doing it right or not, but Katelyn is always really helpful when it comes to making changes in posture (I am terrible at "downward-facing dog"). She makes the classes really inspiring, encouraging us to take the feeling of calm we get from our yoga session out with us afterwards, and it is great for reducing stress.


Volunteer Profiling 

The first volunteer profile

Since I set up the new Facebook page for the Irish Cancer Society in Dun Laoghaire, I have started profiling our volunteers - basically I take a picture of one of them at work, and ask them to tell me how long they have been volunteering with us, what their favourite thing is about working there, and why they chose to volunteer with the Irish Cancer Society in the first place. Our bubbliest volunteer, Catia, featured in our first volunteer profile (shown here on the right). I have really enjoyed doing this project so far, because not only do I get to know my fellow volunteers better, but by putting these posts on Facebook, it also allows them to get recognition for their work. I am looking forward to profiling more of our volunteers in 2017, especially Pauline, who has been there for an impressive 25 years!


I hope you've enjoyed getting to know some of the people I've met during my Gasice challenge so far, as they have made the experience so enjoyable, and even though the activities themselves are exciting, without these people, my Gaisce challenge so far wouldn't be half as special.