When I first started yoga, I was a TOTAL SKEPTIC.

My first yoga class was in a Gold’s Gym basement in the suburbs of Connecticut, where I spent a summer interning as an Environmental Engineer in college. I had no social life during weekdays, so I spent my evenings driving through endless small farms, searching for new places to get cheap takeout, and visiting the local library for audio books on CD. Left to my own devices, I am an exceptionally boring person… 😉

Out of sheer boredom, I started taking yoga classes after work. I was decades younger than everyone in the room. It was slow and that was totally fine with me, because I spent the entire class staring at everyone else, trying to keep up and simultaneously saying over and over again “am I doing this right?” and “why in the heck do people do this?” and “this is so weird”.

And yet – with literally no other form of social entertainment, I kept coming back.

I liked how people in class had friendships with one another. They would arrive early to catch up on life, chat, and laugh. And even though I never spoke to anyone (exceptional shyness is my natural state of being), I felt like I was a part of something.

And, over time, I found it easier to follow along. It began to feel a bit like a place I belonged. Months later, back at school, I would have a health crisis that would culminate with me prioritizing health, relying on yoga to slowly build back my strength.

Yoga has given me so much. And yet, it took me SO LONG to see its value in my life, in my body, and in my heart. I never would have given it a chance if not for sheer boredom, medical emergencies, and life crises.

Our Welcome Mat Program for Beginner Yogis

This month, Be the Love is unveiling its very first Welcome Mat program. It’s 8-weeks of “get to know you”, filled with community, Q&A, and short talks on topics that are pressing for anyone new to any studio: who are the teachers, how do I start yoga, how do I do this whole virtual yoga thing, and so much more.

Plus, you get to meet other people new to Be the Love, and make friends (virtually), so you have people to catch up with at the beginning of class. It’s everything beginner me would have loved, delivered in badass Be the Love style.

Learn more here!