So, my lovely roommates and best friends at Pitt have become my workout buddies for the summer. I couldn’t be happier that I have some cool chicks to sweat with and burn off those extra calories that come with summer tailgates and picnics.
They got me hooked on Bikram Yoga, and I’ve been going several times a week now. I like it because it helps me to slow down and think and also to gain some flexibility since I lost a lot of it in high school with all of the miles I ran (without stretching properly!). The biggest reason I like it though, is because I SUCK AT IT.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am always striving to succeed; but that’s just the problem. I feel like I have spent so much of my life focusing on things I’m good at so I can be the best that I never have time to get better at the things I’m not so good at yet! Bikram Yoga is the same 26 moves every 90-minute class (not to mention this is all performed in a 105 degree hot room!). One of the poses, the Standing Bow Pose, looks like this:
But when I look at my self in the mirrored wall, I look more like this:
and I couldn’t be happier. Why?
Every time I go, I am getting better.
The fact that it is the same moves every time lets me improve from the time before, and those littles successes may one day make me a yoga master. Maybe not, but I’ll be a whole lot better than before.
This sense of empowerment that comes from improving makes me feel like I can do anything if I try, and I can! This new found empowerment has prompted me to look at more options for my life and career beyond just becoming an RD. I have researched grad school, extra minors, even Medical School in the past few weeks because why not? I’m not good at medicine now, but who’s to say I couldn’t be?
After all, I’m getting a lot better at this yoga stuff!
What if I never get good at yoga, or never go to grad school? You know, that’s okay too. I don’t need to be the best at the Standing Bow Pose or get the high score on the GRE’s. I realized this after going through high school with a lot of pressure on myself as a perfectionist: if you’re happy and you’re having fun, then you’re good at what you’re doing.
The Sound Student 