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.

Yoga

 I have now done 4 weeks of yoga classes and I am really enjoying it. What I love about yoga is that the instructor frequently reminds us that it's not about the poses other people in the class are doing; it's not about all being at the same level, but rather about doing what feels comfortable for you. The instructor will adapt different positions depending on what different levels people are at. It can be hard not to push yourself to a higher level, but when the instructor starts doing crazy poses where all the weight rests on her hands only, I know I am not ready for that (yet!) but I look forward to being able to do it.


Aside from the physical aspect, the instructor focuses on the "meditation through movement" aspect of yoga, telling us to focus on positive thoughts, to let go of negative feeling, and to try and carry that attitude out with us afterwards. On the morning of Trump's election, it was lovely to go to yoga to forget about it all!

I'm surprised how different yoga is from week to week. It's hard to remember the names of all the poses too, but as you can see I have a few pictures here of some of the poses we do. I had to miss yoga one week because I was ill, and my body really knew it- my joints kept cracking throughout the following week's class. I am definitely going to invest in my own yoga mat soon so that I can practise at home.I can tell I am making progress with my ability/inability to touch my toes, so I am delighted with that.

Week 1: Foxtrot, Piano Teapot and the Mysterious Blanket

This week a woman, next week a man

I had always wanted to learn some of the different ballroom dances- and after much searching I finally came across a 10 week introductory class to Ballroom and Latin Dancing for beginners- exactly the kind of taster class I was looking for. Unfortunately, and as I had expected, the women outweighed the men…. 7:1! So, this week I got to dance the woman’s steps, but next week I will dance the man’s steps. Today, we started off with the Foxtrot, first pacing out the steps, speeding it up, then coming together with our partner and trying not to stomp on each other’s feet. Once the music switched on, we were dancing to songs like Beyond the Sea and The Tender Trap. I hadn't been sure how I would find my first dance class, because I often find it difficult to copy dance moves, but I really felt I got the hang of it today, and with a bit of practice, I definitely think I will be ready for next week. 

Why buy one book when you can buy 10?

Books flowing off the shelves!

I called into the Irish Cancer Society charity shop to  ask about volunteering, and was told I could start the following week. My first task was to check price tags on items out in the shop, and I was immediately struck by how the donations are sold at such fantastic value. Take all these books pictured here, for example, the majority are priced at €1.50 each! So if you are thinking of getting new reading material any time soon, do consider going to a charity shop, because not only are you donating to a charitable cause, but you are also saving money and benefiting the environment in the process. After checking price tags, I was sorting through donations, which is always an interesting task to see what kind of items people donate. The strangest was probably a funky piano-shaped teapot! I really enjoyed my first day- learning how the shop works, and meeting all the other volunteers.

The "Tree Pose"-
fell over right after taking this

The Yoga Newbie 

This was my first ever yoga class. I was quite nervous going in, as this was not a beginner class, but rather a “Yoga all levels” class and everyone else seemed to know what they were doing. Nonetheless, in I went, and the instructor told me to get a mat, a blanket (??) and some blocks (???). At first glance the studio, with all the foam blocks, blankets and mats, looked like an ideal place to build a really impressive blanket fort. The instructor was excellent, easing us into the class, then the poses got progressively difficult, and by the end my legs were really starting to shake! We wound down at the end, eventually getting to use the mysterious blanket for the meditation part, called "Shavasana". Having never tried yoga before, I had been wary about doing it, but after today’s class, I think it would be extremely valuable to keep it up as a life-long activity.


I can't wait to see what the next few weeks bring!

The Beginning

"Find your passion, get active, and make a difference in your community"

This year, I am setting out to complete the Gold Gaisce challenge, also known as the Irish President's Award. I kept putting it off, BUT (as usual) deadlines are the best cure for procrastination- and the Gold challenge must be completed between the ages of 17-25, so I am actually starting to run out of time! In order to earn a Gold President's Award, the participant must complete 52 weeks of: a physical activity, a skill, and community involvement, as well as an adventure journey and a residential activity. For more information on the award, visit: http://gaisce.ie/ Also, if you are wondering what on earth Gaisce stands for - it is an Irish word meaning "great achievement"... but can also mean "brag"- I'll leave that for you to decide!

For this challenge, I have leaped out of my comfort zone and into...dance classes! I've never had the knack for dancing, my brother definitely got all the dance genes. Instead I mostly awkwardly bop around, never know what to do with my hands, try to look invisible and hope no one is actually watching. I decided against taking Hip Hop classes, because aside from coordination I probably lack necessary sass. Instead, I am starting ballroom and latin dancing - which so far seems set to include the foxtrot, waltz, swing dancing, tango and cha cha!

Having pretty much just sat at a desk for about 5 years writing essays -with minimal physical activity in between - suddenly going to the gym probably isn't the greatest idea. Instead, for my physical activity, I have decided to take up yoga, in the hopes of improving my flexibility. Finally, for my community involvement, I have decided to start volunteering with the Irish Cancer Society in one of their charity shop branches. Cancer is something which touches everyone's lives at some point, so I am glad to help cancer research funding in whatever way I can.

This blog, as you've probably realised by now, will be following me on my Gaisce journey, and while it would be great if this turned out to be a tale of "Clumsy Girl Becomes Great Dancer", "Sarah Can Finally Touch Her Toes" or "New Breakthrough thanks to Cancer Research Funding", I am not setting any particular goals, I am just really excited about the process. I hope that at the very least, you get enjoyment out of reading this blog, or, even better, I hope that you might be encouraged to try something similar- step out of your comfort zone, or give your time to someone who needs it.

If not, in the typical Irish way, sure just read it for an auld sneer.

Till next week!