Lookout Below: My first yoga class

By Mallory Stiles
Associate Editor

It’s a Monday and I want to start the week with a laugh, so I ask you, why did the bagel struggle in yoga class?

Because it couldn’t find its center.

Cheesy, but who doesn’t love cheese?

All jokes aside, yoga is a great way to relieve stress, work on controlling your body and have some fun. I highly recommend you give it a shot, no matter where your skill level lies.

Last weekend, I tried my first yoga class ever. I have been practicing on my own for years and years but I had never actually been to a class. You guys know how I feel about group sports.

So, I woke up and headed to East Lansing Hot Yoga, which is indeed very hot, but not as unbearable as friends have made it sound. This is a great studio filled with enthusiastic employees and kind yogis who, unsurprisingly, are a very chill group of people.

On its website, yogis promise that the combination of the heat and yoga “de-stresses, delights and detoxifies the body through perspiration and increased blood flow.”

I was skeptical, but they were absolutely telling the truth. I came with my own matt, but they rent them for $2 and will throw in a towel for $3 for those in need.

I picked a spot in the back of the class, because these people looked like they knew a thing or two, and got comfy. I relaxed in the dim light and warm air, thinking healing thoughts and welcoming kind energies only.

It may sound a little too spiritual for some, but it really does help.

The instructor was very gracious and often reminded us that breaks were encouraged as he guided us through a few different flows.

Most of it was pretty basic, warrior poses and what not, but there were a few I had never done, which gave me a feeling of accomplishment to take home.

I was drenched in sweat head to toe but it was more than worth it for the atmosphere alone.

Check out the website here, really look at the different classes and trust yourself enough to put yourself out there; you got this.