Hello, I’m Sarah Andexler and my background is NOT yoga. I started off in culinary and recently ended up working as an office manager for a totes recycling company in Cleveland. I became ill about 3 months ago and the doctors told me that I needed to reduce the stress that was causing me to stay ill, that I should think about starting to take up yoga. I started looking around but had no idea which studios would except a true “newbie”, or to find a studio that would help guide me to an understanding of what yoga is truly about. I looked online at local studios and it’s hard to pick a studio from their pictures. Everyone is small, petite, clearly seasoned and have the perfect clothes. I have no flexibility, I was sick, and my clothes selection was whatever I had purchased to wear in life and to an office.
After talking to my neighbor, Jessica, about thinking about taking up yoga, she introduced me to EssentialZen Yoga. After my first class I was hooked !! I paid for my first month and have never looked back. I have fallen in love with this studio so much I am now I’m writing EssentialZen Yogas’, EZY for short, BLOG!!! Complete mind blown!!
It’s important for you to know that I am a first timer, a true “newbie”, from not even that long ago. I don’t know the names of the poses, or the meaning behind them. I didn’t know the colors of the chakras or what they contained. Everyone that practices yoga has had their first day, first week, first month, everyone started by making the conscience decision to take ahold of their health and try yoga. No studio should make you feel as though that isn’t ok; if you feel that way, leave and find a new studio.
Yoga itself has many health benefits from improving balance, flexibility, strength, energy levels, menopausal symptoms, pain levels amongst the elderly (but honestly it helps all ages), and has been known to outperform aerobic exercises. Yoga is a practice that no matter how long you have been doing it, everyday is different, there is even a difference from the right side of the body to the left side. The instructors will even make a point to tell you everytime, Yoga is a practice some days you will be able to do one thing but the next day you can’t get there all the way; and that is ok. I have witnessed the instructors fall out of a balance position or make a comment about the poses being a little harder today than usual. Be understanding, be forgiving.
It’s ok to be new. It’s ok to ask questions. It’s absolutely ok to not be able to the pose. Our bodies are a direct link to the abuse we have put it through, sitting in an office chair with your shoulders hunched over typing on a keyboard, those long runs we take, the bike rides, sitting in the chair, being a “parent-taxi”, the food we eat, those few extra pounds we’ve gained over the years, it all takes a toll on the body and yoga is a chance to take back the reins and do some slow healing. There are many different kinds of yoga and yoga studios. Pick one and take the class with a completely open mind. Go to the class with no expectations and set your intention. That intention could be as simple as, “Just get through class”. Even if you’ve read an article or talked to Grace down the street who heard from her dog walker that this kind of yoga is this or that; make a decision to come to a class for you, to help make yoga a daily practice in your life.
Welcome to Eight Limbs, EssentialZen Yogas’ new blog. Here we will grow together and experience a warm inviting yoga community. Here everyone can be free to be yourself and let eight limbs guide you.
And remember: Go without expectations. Set an intention. Breath.
“A photographer gets people to pose for him. A yoga instructor gets people to pose for themselves.”
------- Jay Fields
If you have any questions or comments, ideas or thoughts, things you’d like to see on the blog, things you don’t want to see please send me an email at ezblog.sarah@gmail.com.
Aurora’s Community Yoga Studio
Meet peace, contentment, and strength amidst the warmth of community. Join us at our home studio in Aurora’s Depot District or at Signature of Solon Country Club. We look forward to welcoming you.
Classes
Drop by for classes of varied styles and levels at our Aurora studio, located at 330 East Garfield Road. Enjoy additional classes and BARRE at EssentialZen Yoga at Signature of Solon Country Club, 39000 Signature Drive, Solon (Clubhouse open to all).
Workshops & Events
Specialty workshops allow deeper study of yoga techniques and interactive exploration of life-shifting practices you can apply on and off the yoga mat. We offer a broad range of workshops, including Yoga 101, and special events, such as Bring Your Dog to Yoga, throughout the year. Please check our calendar for upcoming events and experiences.