Still pretty sure it's not for me

Our building recently has started having a few exercise classes available. Since my mom is in town, and can help watch the kids when I go, I signed up for a month to see what I think. The first time I went the class started and I realized I'd mistakenly gone to kickboxing (I was trying to start with something more gentle since I haven't done aerobics since, oh, college??) So after surviving that, last night I tried the yoga class. I have never been a yoga person. I love pilates, but I've never been able to get into the slowness of yoga, and I've just never really done it. I think I tried a class maybe once about ten years ago and, as it all came back to me last night, I seemed to remember then, too thinking the poses were uncomfortable and having a hard time with the serious meditation part of it.

So as I made my way in last night I decided I had to be on the very edge of the group and try to hopefully make myself a little inconspicuous. I ended up next to a guy, who, luckily, looked like he'd never really done yoga before either, so we were both just lame and uncoordinated the whole way through together.

Well, then we come to the relaxation/meditation part at the end. After looking like an idiot doing all the poses, I realized - yeah, I kind of like this part where you just lay on the floor. Well, the instructor (who is some sort of foreign and has a very thick accent and really not very good english) has everyone lay on their backs and relax. She tells us to close our eyes and visualize something that makes us the most happy and to see that picture right inbetween our eyebrows. And even with our eyes closed to turn our eyes in to that picture. Then she says, "Now put your thumb to the roof of your mouth." So I oblige, but I'm thinking, hmm, that's kind of weird but, well the whole thing is kind of weird to me and what the heck do I know about yoga? And of course, I always look at everyone else the whole class to make sure I'm doing things right. So I open my eyes and look at the guy next to me, and sure enough, he also has his thumb in his mouth. But then I look over further and realize - um, how come this guy and I are the only ones in the room just laying on our backs, sucking our thumbs? So I take mine out while I'm still sort of confused looking around but try to just continue whatever we're doing.

About a minute later it dawns on me: oh my gosh, I think she said tongue. That teacher I can't understand for the life of me said "put your tongue to the roof of your mouth, not thumb! I look over at the poor guy next to me who is laying there happily sucking on his thumb in a room full of non thumb-sucking, yoga savvy women. I am busting up. That was both of us a minute ago! I wonder what everyone else was thinking? Thank heavens I had the sense to at least open my eyes and check it out! But now I'm about to burst becasue I am laughing so hard in the middle of a room in complete silence. I have the giggles so so bad, just dying that you can't understand this teacher but why in the world would we have been sucking our thumbs?! So I'm trying so hard to roll on my side so the rest of the people can't see me as tears are just rolling down my eyes... and the more I try to stop the more I'm just laughing and I can't leave because that would be even more noisy and disruptive right in the middle of meditation. So I'll think I'm getting myself under control, but then I can't help glance over at the guy still with his thumb in his mouth and the whole thing starts over again! Just then the teacher came over to put some meditation potion on my head and neck or whatever, so I really had to try hard to pull it together and hope she thought the tears were emotion from the spiritual connection I was having with my being....

Oh man. See? I never really thought yoga was for me. And if you haven't done it, you really should take it from someone who speaks english.