As a newbie to yoga, I was very scared and apprehensive to go out to the yoga event and wasn’t quite sure what to expect. On the other hand, I was really happy that the event was free with a donation of cans to the food bank which made this event even more satisfying. I was really glad that I was able to bring a group of friends along for the event to experience it for the first time. When we got there, it was really quite beautiful. Even though I’ve lived in Hawaii my whole life, I’ve seemed to have gotten bored of Ala Moana beach park over the years and have rarely visited it again. Arriving to the location of the event, it was surprising to re-experience the soothing sunset in such a peaceful atmosphere. It was comforting to see all of the people that seemed to be consistent participants already there as we set up our mats for the class. Jonathan the instructor opened the session with set of relaxing meditation exercises that quickly put us in a state of pure relaxation. We then proceeded into a series of basic stretches before the real legwork began. Soon and surely I quickly found myself having to do typical yoga poses like the lotus and downward-facing dog. As we slowly transitioned I found myself having to do more and more challenging poses that I never knew existed. At one point in time, I remember watching Jonathan as he explained to us how to slowly get into the Sarvangasana position and as I tried and continued to fail, I looked around laughing thinking no one got it either. To my dismay, I was wrong. I think I was the only one who couldn’t do it but it was still pretty fun trying to do it. Overall, I think that all people with various levels of yoga experience should try it out because of how relaxing and rewarding this experience can be.
