Outside my Comfort Zone

During vacation I like to change up my regular routines and challenge myself to go outside my comfort zone.

Last week I was on a family vacation to the beach and was enjoying all the fun of reconnecting with family, walking along the waves in the sand and swimming outside in a pool.

My sister suggested we do yoga on the beach. I’ve watched it from afar but never signed up. In fact in years past, I may have even done a little yoga on my own, but never with the full class.

It was delightful. There were definite advantages over a studio yoga class.

• The ocean in the morning makes a very beautiful backdrop
• The sand is very forgiving on the knees
• An 8 am class is later than most of the yoga classes I take at home
• The sun wasn’t too hot just yet
• The sound of the waves makes a soothing and rhythmic ambiance

There are also challenges.

• It is out in the open so “everyone” can see you
• The sand moves and shifts making balance poses somewhat challenging
• The sand also gets on the beach towel so by the end of class I felt a bit like a sand monster. A relaxed, happy sand monster!

We had a great instructor who took us through a variety of vinyasa flow style yoga moves. I guess that part really was not outside my comfort zone! It felt so good to do some sun salutations, warrior poses, pigeon and even happy baby. Although it was early morning, the sun started to get hot early and I’m so glad I brought my water bottle. All the sand everywhere actually added to the sensory experience… and sure felt good to get a shower afterwards!

Having my sister there with me doing yoga gave me the added push I needed to outside my head of feeling like “everyone” was watching and judging. When I think about it logically, most of the people, even on the beach front condos, are still inside either sleeping or enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee.

This will definitely become part of my vacation routine going forward. It really helped to get the kinks out of my back from sitting on the long drive from Ohio to the beach.