Yep, aerial yoga

Guys guys guys.

I can barely put two sentences together because this was so cool. But I'm going to try because my god this was cool.

Let's talk about cool for a sec.

When I got invited to go to an aerial yoga class, I was pretty skeptical. I had never heard of it before, and I've thumbed through a good number of Yoga Journal magazines. My main concern was that "aerial" implies that if I just so happened to fall, it would be a farther distance than when I am standing on the floor.

Yes sometimes I fall down while I'm standing. Prime example: Warrior Three.

My other concern was that I would straight up not be able to do it. Like "have to sit in child's pose the whole time" incapable. Given my competitive nature, his was an unacceptable and anxiety-inducing possibility.

Nonetheless, I decided that it was going to be fun and even if I did have to sit in child's pose the whole time, the only judgment that would be directed at me would be from myself, and I would never have to go again.

When I walked into the studio Saturday morning, my adrenaline seemed to convert my nervousness into pure excitement. Huge pieces of fabric called "silks" or "swings" were knotted up to bolts in the ceiling and attached with hefty carabiners.

I met the instructor Tara - who could not have been more welcoming or positive - who told me that each hook can hold up to 350 pounds, so I would need to be pushing 700 pounds if I were going to tear the silk down from the ceiling. Phew!

As the small class gathered - there were only six of us including Tara - I watched Tara simultaneously chat with the class and flip herself into poses using the silks. At this point I was just antsy to learn how to do it.

Teach me your ways!

I ended up learning pretty quickly.

Aerial yoga blends the poses you know from your regular ashtanga yoga with these silks hanging from the ceiling. You can do everything from Down Dog to Pigeon Pose to Plow, but the silk makes it so that you can customize the how the pose works for you.

Let's take Pigeon Pose.

Thanks, Kristin McGee for demonstrating.

When you do it on the floor, there are a lot of things to consider. Your knees, your hips, your ankles. The ground seems to be fighting against you, even though its one of the best poses for opening up your hips.

But when you do it in a silk, you have more control over how the pose works for you without the limitations of doing it on the floor.

www.pomelosunshine.com

But then you also get to do crazy cool things you'd never be able to do in an ashtanga class, like the pose you saw me in, or what my friend Sara is doing here. Holy What?!

Sure it may look like Royal Dancer, but did you see? She's upside down. Bonkers.

I cannot wait to go back to class. It was so fun to flip around, push myself out of my comfort zone and try new things. It was the perfect way to kick off the weekend. 

Sara actually has an aerial swing installed in her apartment. I may go to a few more classes before I investigate that option, but for now she told me I can come by and use it when I'm suffering withdrawal throughout the week, and I will most definitely take her up on it.

Wait, seriously?

On New Year's Eve 2011, I got charged $350 dollars for a cab ride home.

Apparently I was having far too much fun that night to notice until the next morning.

My heart sunk into my grumbling stomach. How could I have possibly gotten charged that much for a freaking cab ride?! I could have stayed at the Marriott around the corner for half that price. I probably could have chartered my own plane to pick me up from the bar and fly me home for that much money.

I figured it had to be a mistake. I called the cab company and explained the situation. The decimal point is just in the wrong spot, right? You can't seriously be charging me $350 for a cab ride.

Oh, but they were. I had been notified that there was going to be a "surcharge" due to the high demand for cabs that evening. Unfortunately I was supposed to interpret "surcharge" as "we're going to gouge the bejeezus out of you, cool?"

No, sir. Not cool.

After a long interaction with the cab company when I may have thrown around words like "rat fink", they decided to reimburse me for half of the cab fare. Something's better than nothing right?

I would like to use this story as a metaphor for how I would sum up my 2012.

2012 wasn't my best year. I was paying out the nose, stressing myself out, and only getting a lousy cab ride that smelled like bad cologne in return.

Then I took matters into my own hands, and 2012 gave me a 50% reimbursement with a job in a place where I feel at home.

I saw my grandma back in August at the beach and again over Christmas break. I wasn't doing too hot in August, having just gone through a breakup and really not knowing where to turn next. And no, I wasn't hiding it very well. But then I saw her just a couple weeks ago after having been in Florida for a couple months and she said, "Kate, you seem like a different person."

I couldn't agree more. I feel like a different person.

Sad outcome to this game, but still a very happy day.

I also realize that my new lifestyle hasn't been too conducive to blogging. Mainly because I'm not lonely anymore. Something that I like to call a high-quality problem. I spent so much of last year alone in a hotel room, alone on a plane or alone in my apartment that it was a no brainer to sit down and write something. Blogging made me feel less lonely.

Now I'll meet up with friends after work on a Wednesday for drinks, eat lunch with a coworker instead of alone at my desk in the basement, or go to the beach on a Sunday and take a nap in the sun.

January 13, indeed.

Yesterday I went to the beach at Fort De Soto Park, read a book in the sun and attempted to throw a frisbee. Still trying to master the wrist snap, but still. What a Sunday.

Despite how much I may have wanted to, I can't write off 2012 completely. I figured out what makes me happy (catchy rap tunes), I figured out what drives me bonkers (finding parking in busy places). I learned how to be an efficient business traveler and I learned that I prefer having a short commute and sleeping in the same bed every night.

Right around the time I was packing up and moving to Florida I realized that  I didn't manage to achieve most of the goals I set for myself for 2012, and that I likely wasn't going to. But looking back at them I think I nailed the most important one - Take life as it comes, when it comes.

Oh, and that headstand. What up!

This post isn't an apology or an explanation. It's basically just a way for me to wipe the slate clean. 2012 kicked my butt. However, I didn't pay a dime to get home this New Year's, so I think the odds are in my favor for 2013.