I grew up in a gym community that had promoted an environment of healthy and happy living. I never fully understood what a blessing it was until the time came to leave it behind as I headed off to begin the next chapter of my life as a college student. Beginning my freshman year at West Chester University in the fall of 2018 came with both tears of joy and tears of sadness. Leaving behind a community that had become so important to me made me feel lost. I did not think this new place would ever feel like home.
I was assigned in a writing class of mine to explore West Chester, so I took the opportunity to put myself back out there and begin to try some new gyms in the area. I am from a very small town, so moving to West Chester meant that there were a wide variety of group fitness classes that I would have the option of choosing from. I decided to try something very different then anything I had done prior. I decided to try an aerial yoga class. There is a small studio located in town called Eat, drink, Om that offers a beginner level class, so that you can learn the basics. The idea is that you will leave class with the confidence to come back to try a traditional flow.
I arrived at the studio a few minutes before class had began and was very surprised by just how small it is. There is barely enough room for the 8 of us who had attended to stand in our own space. We each selected an orange silk that was gracefully hanging from the ceiling. The silk was adjusted to meet our individual height needs so that the bottom came to just about our hip crease while standing on out tippy toes.
Once we were each set up on our apparatus’, we began class. We started with a series of stretches to open up the heart, back, and shoulders. Going through the basic movements of something like this is very important because there is a lot of risk for injury. I had a blast learning some of the movements and different tricks that the instructor was able to share. She of course made everything look so effortless. She did an amazing job of keeping the overall atmosphere of the studio very cheerful and light which made it fun. There were continuous laughs as we swung around, bumping into each other.
My experience with aerial yoga is one that I will not forget. While I may not have found my second home here in West Chester, it felt good to begin my search. Finding the right gym is like finding the right college. We visit a school, observe the campus, talk to some students, maybe sit in on a lecture to see if it is the right fit for us. We keep exploring until one day we find what works for us. I am looking forward to flying high here at West Chester University as I begin to explore the endless opportunities that are in front of me. How will you fly, jump or leap to take a step towards finding something you love?
Healthy Bodies on a Budget 