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| Adriene in the green with me and my friends :) |
Anyone who knows me will know how much I love yoga and that my journey to cultivating a regular practice came from committing to a 30 days of yoga challenge on the Yoga with Adriene YouTube channel. You can read more about this here.
The Yoga with Adriene channel makes it so easy to practice yoga wherever I am because it's so accessible, suitable for all levels and it's free! Depending on how my body feels and my energy levels I can have a flick through all the videos and choose one that suits my mood, be it a ten minute stretch out at my desk or a more strength building, energising practice.
There are so many yoga channels on the web but the main reason I always stick with the Yoga with Adriene videos is because Adriene is a wonderful teacher. She's down to earth, super chilled and funny, it's like she's in the living room with me! Her tutorials always promote listening to your body and 'finding what feels good' rather than pushing yourself too much or feeling any discomfort whatsoever.
When I found out that she was going to be doing a road show including dates in the UK, I was stoked! I couldn't wait to practice yoga with Adriene - in real life! So when the day came, I was absolutely buzzing with energy.
The venue, Manchester Academy, not your usual yoga joint was filling up with yogi's from all over the UK. It was so cool to see different coloured yoga mats in rows and people in yoga pants in a venue where I'm usually rocking out to the likes of N.E.R.D! I was super excited for her to arrive thinking I might squeal like a teenager but when she arrived on stage it was like I was there to meet a friend.
Everyone applauded and she greeted us warmly before talking about why she decided to do a road show. She then explained how the theme of the class was compassion - compassion for others for ourselves and love. Love. Perfect. So much so that I got a little teary at the beginning...
I managed to keep it together for the class though which started out with us laying on our backs and slowly progressed from a relaxing flow to a more energising sequence to a soundtrack that included her video title tune and even a disco track! It was amazing how 400 people were breathing and moving in unison. Even more amazing how even though there were so many of us, it still felt like an intimate class and setting.
At the end we bowed to ourselves and each other and I just sat and stared at my surroundings, big smile on my face. What a unique experience. I can't say I've ever done yoga with so many people and I was just stunned by what Adriene had created all the way from Texas; a wonderful community of people who were all there to be present, conscious, kind, compassionate, aware, to love and to find what feels good!
I even managed to get a hug and a picture with the lady herself. She spoke to practically every person that was there and although we were at the end of the queue she was still bouncing with energy and spoke to each of us like a true friend. What a beautiful spirit. Definitely worth the wait. We were probably delirious by the time we got to meet her though! Seriously, we salsa danced in the queue - enough said.
Days after the class and I still feel inspired by it. It was another highlight to add to my yoga journey. If you haven't already started yours, do give it a try. Yoga has contributed to my life in so many ways. From what started out as a physical practice to heal my spine, it has now become a place for me to spend a little bit of time to take care of myself physically, mentally and spiritually. Yoga doesn't just take place on my mat, I take it off the mat and into the rest of my day. It just makes everything softer. And if it can do that for me, I want everybody to do it!
Start practising today with the very first Yoga with Adriene video that kick started my yoga journey by clicking here.
Just love and namaste
Rina xoxo
P.S. Thanks to Kat for the pictures, my battery died. Typical!
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