I’ve seen a few reasons supporting scheduling fitness/studio classes in advance, often by way of motivation and sticking to a workout. And I can understand that. But something occurred to me earlier as I thought about a then-upcoming weekend and thought on which yoga class to take. And that was how much I was looking forward to being in my yoga class. The anticipation of it.
What was it that I looked forward to? Well…several things.
- The flow – especially after workdays sitting, the idea of spending an hour stretching out those tight muscles is a good feeling. I look forward to both the movement and the extending out in say a sun salutation (and how good that first down dog is going to feel!)
- The focus – after busy days where the monkey mind has been very active, there’s also something soothing about knowing my mind might be working hard in say, holding a Warrior II for a few breaths, but that there is a peace in knowing that I’ll be focusing on a core idea: breathing and the pose.
- Savasana – let’s be real. There’s a lot to look forward to in those final moments of stillness in a class, eyes closed and slowing down the breath, the body more loose than when I walked into class and the comfort of that stillness on the mat.
- Community – when I talk about The Mat, I always talk about the community (and have talked about this a lot over the years in these posts!). And that’s because the community here – and very possibly at the studio you readers may be taking class at – have similar interests. That’s why we’re there, after all! I’ve made so many friends at the studio over the years and I love the hellos and hugs and catching up when coming to class.
Not only does scheduling a class in advance reserve that time for me (which on its own, is a great way to commit and schedule other things around class when possible), but as I’ve written, it gives me something to look forward to. When life comes up, as it inevitably will, I can think “Oh, I’ve got a class tomorrow” or later today or whenever. I can bring to mind the things I love about that upcoming class. And that anticipation is fun to have too.
And then of course – I get to the studio and I take the class. Anticipation reached and a great way to spend an hour.
This is the part of a series of posts for The Mat Yoga Studio, sharing my thoughts and observations as a student only. The views and opinions are my own experience.
