I think I may have missed my calling.
This past week I had my first, ever boxing class. It was beyond fun! I had done the speed bag and body bag at the gym before, but never had I taken part in a full on boxing class, where you beat the stuffing out of bags, do partner work with a teacher and generally knock the sh*t out of things until you can’t feel your arms.
It was heaven!
About 5 minutes into the class the instructor came over to do partner work and stated, quite accurately,
“You’re sweating!”
I looked at him baffled. Of course I’m friggin’ sweating! I didn’t come here to paw at these bags! I came to murder inanimate objects with faux rage, good sir!
As we sparred he gave me great tips. Things like – swing even harder, spin on the toes, get your legs into it. It was a whole body and brain ordeal. I mentioned to him I was a yoga teacher, and I generally don’t hit things. To which he said,
“You’re not in Kansas anymore!”
“That’s so funny! I went to school in Kansas” I blurted out.
He just smiled and said “Swing harder with that right hook, yoga teacher!!”
All righty then, tin muscle man, this Dorothy is about to go to OZ!! And I swung hard.
I swung so hard and so intensely, the room around me became a blur. It wasn’t until 30 minutes into the class that I glanced around and realized, people were not as scary looking as me. They seemed much more “polite” to the bags, almost apologizing with lighter, less angry swings. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was a sweaty swamp monster with mascara streaming down my face. My arms were already sore from punishing innocent body bags. I didn’t care. I was unleashing pent up energy and emotions I normally keep under wraps with deep breathing and a lot of “Namaste’s”.
It was sheer joy going to the opposite end of the spectrum!
At the end of the class we did 6 solid minutes of core work. Core work for me is like chocolate, I can never get enough. The teacher was walking around the room encouraging people to pick up the pace as they lay back in between sets. I was aware I looked somewhat like a bionic psycho-lady going non-stop and pulsing in my crunches like there was no tomorrow. He came over to my corner expecting to have to give his same “you can do it!” speech. He looked down, a little shocked and said,
“Um, yes, keep…keep doing what you’re doing. Good job!”
Damn straight buddy. I do yoga. I can do ab work until the second coming!
After the class was done, the front desk attendant asked me how I liked it. Beaming through sweat and a glowing red face I said,
“It was awesome!!”
She laughed, “Yeah, if you have a stressful job, it’s a great outlet.”
“True story,” I replied, “Although, I teach yoga….”
Before I could go any further into self deprecation, saying how I shouldn’t really complain about teaching yoga, she said with sage like simplicity,
“Yeah, but even in yoga, you can still get assholes.”
An uncontrollable guffaw burst out of my mouth. Everything about this experience was cathartic and truthful. The unleashing of physical energy, the safe outlet for pent up emotion, and to top it all off, the undeniable observation that even in the world of yoga, there are assholes to deal with.
I woke up the next day achy in the best way, craving more and looking up youtube videos online for beginner boxing tips. An unexpected side effect of the whole experience? It made me so excited to teach yoga the next morning and to get on the mat the next afternoon.
Boxing worked me in a way I hadn’t felt since my days as a collegiate rower. However, my body craved the slow stretch of yoga to balance out the fast pace of boxing. They became this perfect blend of yin and yang type movements. Trying something new, and being willing to look ridiculous while doing it was also pretty refreshing.
Needless to say, I now own (pink) boxing wraps and will be going to many more classes. This Dorothy is hooked on the technicolour, OZ-like world of boxing.
Yoga has taught me life is about balance. With that in mind, this yogi will be boxing and then bending until she’s a sweaty and smiling swamp monster. Until next time, float like a butterfly, sting like a yogi!
