As a Yoga Student, I continue to have a love/hate relationship with my personal practice.

Perhaps you can relate:

1. Just breathe. Some days, I just don’t want to breathe. I’m focusing so much on my technique, the last thing on my mind is breathing. So yes, my head is turning every shade of red, but look at my perfect feet! So worth it.
2. When my insides feel like they are being ripped to shreds. Some days when I go up into wheel, I swear the walls of my abdomen are seconds away from being pulled apart. OMG the pain! And all I can think about was how I rocked this pose in kindergym. “Where are you now, six year old body Alison?”
3. When all I want to do is fart. Sure, twisting poses work their magic on my intestines, and yes, farting in yoga class is completely normal, but it still sucks when it happens. All I want to do is push a little bit further into my twisting pose, but all of my energy and attention is into making sure my sphincter is squeezed shut. Oh right, and I’m suppose to breathe. I don’t think so!
4. Me vs Ego. I am well aware that yoga is not a competitive practice, and that only when I have accepted yoga as a lifelong journey will I get it. And in all honesty, most of my practices are done ego-free. However, if in class I spot that perfect girl in her hot yoga short/crop top combo with questionable technique, out comes my ego. You best believe I push myself that much harder to show perfect-yoga-body girl how this pose is actually done. Sadly, Miss Perfect doesn’t even notice my stellar Chatarunga since I’m to the back left of her.
5. When it’s time to wiggle your fingers and toes. I love Savasana. I will forever stand by it being one of my most challenging poses (dead weight + no thoughts? Right) but once I get into my groove, my happiness cannot be shaken. That is until I’m told to “wiggle my fingers and toes” and I come to the sad realization that my one hundred percent Alison-time is gone until my next class. So long flab-gone wild. See you next class.

In the grand scheme of things, I truly love a juicy yoga class. Sure, there are some days where I can’t stop cussing the clock for not moving faster, but more times than not, I have stumbled across a fabulous instructor who elevates my practice. The way I look at it, the only way my practice will grow is it I take my yoga-hates, and learn how to work them into my yoga-love list. One day.

edited by Greg Eckard

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Alison Kelly is the owner/studio director of Guildwood Yoga. Through Guildwood Yoga, Alison offers yoga designed for all practitioners — from beginners to experienced, kids to retirees. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and through her Personal Blog.