"Are you ready to have fun today?"
/A few weeks ago I decided to join the YMCA.
Though I had my orientation last week, I hadn't made it back since then. Today I walked in the doors and went to scan my member card when the guy sitting at the front desk asked, "Are you ready to have fun today?"
My immediate response was, "Hell yeah! I'm here to take Rickey's class!"
The thing is, I had never taken Rickey's class before so I was taking a leap of faith that it would indeed be fun.
(Spoiler alert: I was absolutely right.)
I'd been hearing things about Rickey's class for weeks. He also regularly practices yoga where I do, so that means I already know he’s good people. Even before taking his class, I could already tell from our few conversations that he would make it a positive and light-hearted experience. I also heard that he plays the jams, which is totally my jam.
This was a big reach for me because, truth be told, I'm not a fan of stationary bikes. Granted, I've already worked on shifting my attitude about them so I walked into this class with the attitude that it was time to shift it some more.
Since I told Rickey yesterday that I planned to come to his class the next day, I figured I'd better keep my word.
When Rickey saw me, his face lit up. "You came!" he said, as he grabbed my hands, which were still warm from the 60 minute hot yoga class I had just come from. Rickey showed me around the stationary bike, assured me that I didn't have to keep up, that what's most important is listening to my body, and made sure I had an extra bottle of water because hydration is key.
But you know what else is key? Community. Rickey knows how to bring it.
As soon as class started, he turned off the florescent lights, turned on the rotating rainbow lights, and started pumping us up with his words as the music played. I felt like I was somewhere in between church, a dance club, and a bike ride with my besties.
Then, it was as if everyone that works at the Y is in on a secret because Rickey echoed the question that I was asked when i walked in.
He said, "Remember, this isn't exercise, this is FUN!"
For the next hour, we spun the pedals to the beat of the music while Rickey had us do all kinds of variations: sitting, standing, moving our arms and our spine. My bias against stationary bikes is that typically it keeps the pelvis in a static position. Now I see that with a class like this, it's not the case. Besides, the energy that I got in return from making new friends, hearing inspirational messages, and listening to some great tunes made up for the "sitting" involved.
There are two messages that Rickey said that stick out to me:
First, it's that when we're committing to our movement practices, it's important to do different things. This is one of the big reason why I joined the YMCA in the first place. The variety of classes, exercises, and activities there is exactly what I need right now to explore all that my body has to offer me (in addition to the daily yoga I'm still doing).
Second, he mentioned that there's power in the words we say. When we say we're going to do something, it's important to keep that promise, both to ourselves and others. As an obliger, I like to use this to my advantage. So after I see how sore I am, I'll let Rickey know when I see him tomorrow at yoga when I'll be back. If not on Thursday, then definitely next Tuesday.
I need as much of these positive vibes as I can get.
I'd love to hear:
Are there any movement classes or activities that you've been wanting to try but haven't got yourself to make it happen?
If so, leave me a comment and tell me when you'll take the first step to doing it. What is the one things you can do today to get yourself to the gym, the park, the class you've been wanting to try?
