Chelsea describes her first yoga experience

The Clip Out recently sat down with Peloton Yoga instructor Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts (she said we don’t have to call her “doctor” by the way…Chelsea is just fine) for an extended interview.  Although we were able to touch on many topics, one thing that stood out was how she did not love yoga the first time she tried it.  “It wasn’t love at first sight. After all, I fainted in my first class. Maybe I need to go to some therapy to figure out why I am drawn to this now.”  That is certainly comforting to someone like myself who is drawn to yoga and all it represents, but struggle to actually do the practice.

Chelsea explains the shift

“For me, the yoga started working once I started to see that the yoga is about me understanding who Chelsea is, and all of the things that it has accumulated in my body, that my body will remember even if my mind tells me, ‘I wasn’t impacted by that thing. That thing didn’t bother me.’ The more that I started to center and honor my experiences, that’s what made me fall in love with the practice more. It’s not all rainbows and cupcakes all the time. There are times where I’m like, ‘Do I need to get on this mat? Yes. You need to get on the mat.’”

Ok, so even for an expert, there are moments when it’s not perfect.  What a relief.

So how do we learn to love yoga?

According to Chelsea, “When your body is telling you, ‘No, we don’t need this right now,’ give it a try and not feeling like you have to be super critical if you’re not busting out of handstands every single class. Allow yourself to breathe. I know that that’s what I want to articulate with yoga. I think it’s beautiful. The practices, postures, and shapes. Also, I want people to know that yoga is not just about the shapes. It’s about being in your body, breathing, and allowing yourself to be present. For me, that was the hardest and the scariest part initially to get through, to be with myself.”

Just breathe.  What a freeing thought.  We can try yoga and it’s ok not to be perfect at the poses.  For this type-A personality, I know letting go will be a challenge, but I think worth the effort.  Chelsea has inspired me to try adding yoga into my weekly plan!

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Make sure you check out all the topics in episode 185 of The Clip Out podcast!

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