My First Barre Class

I first saw online that 'Barre Fitness' was a thing and was immediately attracted. I pictured myself gracefully dipping and sweeping, long willowy limbs smiling in a pretty leotard with a neat bun. This was like a donkey looking in the mirror at a badass unicorn. Not quite. So as with any firsts or new ventures- a trip to google was in order before I could step foot into my first class. Hours of research, video watching and website surfing I was left with more questions than answers and a cloudy yet oddly excited idea of what to expect. Now let me remind you- I'd been in the fitness industry my entire life, teaching classes myself for 8 years at this point. Even with my experiences I still felt the familiar heart thump of the unknown- this illusion of fear that makes trying new things like swimming with clothes on. So, I picked a studio, selected a class and showed up. I didn't tell anyone in case it went ridiculously wrong and I spent an insane amount of time picking a workout outfit. I arrive and look around the room feeling somewhat like an Olympic weight lifter at my first dance recital. The movements came as naturally as Kobe Bryant Figure Skating. I was smiling and sweating enjoying it still however as I could sing along to the top 40 music used in class and complete the movement patterns 'my way.' I wasn't sure if my toes were supposed to be in or out so I kind of left them half, and purposely did extra big arm movements so nobody would notice my legs weren't going high. Halfway through the class I used my fitness and bio-mechanical expertise to to tell myself human legs can't fall off! I tried Yogic breathing to avoid the I might die face and thought "we do this the whole class?" I sweated profusely through the rest of class- selecting 1lb weights that soon felt like cement blocks, and finally excited to lay down on the mats for some familiar 'ab work' (but really to half relax on my back).

Just when I was deciding how I felt about the class, we completed our last stretch and I looked around the room and beamed! I felt awesome. I felt like a badass unicorn wearing workout pants. It was in that moment that I found a new activity I loved. Not because I was good at it, but almost because I wasn't. A culmination of achievement, humbleness, exhaustion, and accomplishment collided. I had set a goal and slayed it. The contentment of follow through combined with a new drive towards skill mastery ignited a fire. Firsts are always weird and we will always overthink and over-respond to them. Even for a Fitness Professional trying something new in her craft- It's still about taking the first step. Life is really a bunch of firsts and the only thing scarier than 1 first is no firsts. So don't worry that it could be weird and hard, it probably will be. Take the action as small as that might be- make the call, write it down, book it in your calendar, because without action nothing will progress or develop. As my friend Jen Sincero writes, "If you want to live a life you've never lived, you have to do things you've never done.