“Say yes and change will take you somewhere unexpected. Say no and you’ll end up in the same place, resisting all the while. I’d rather go willingly and see if the journey itself might be worth the ride.”
Dana Faulds
(and thank you to my yoga instructor, Martha Curtis, for this beautiful quote through our practice together.)
I have a good friend who is a spin teacher and invited me on many occasions to her class. I went, and enjoyed myself. Was a bit uncomfortable clipping in my borrowed shoes and was I turning it up enough? Too much? Took a selfie afterwards and went back to my gym. My people. My routine. I told myself I didn’t really like spinning and based that decision on another class I went to at another gym years ago. Too much “woo-hoo” and not enough mapped out measurable distance for me. (no, control isn’t an issue for me?!) Seed planted.
Fast forward to this past December. A gorgeous wintertime getaway with a blank slate each day. A lot of delicious food and the nudge to take advantage of the gym and class they offered each morning. And for two days of our stay what was on the class menu? (the ONLY class, I might add). Yup. Spinning. Maybe because I was somewhere tropical, or a bit more relaxed, or absolutely forced into doing it because there was no escape hatch, I left and said, “Spinning, huh. Not so bad, I guess”. Seed planted.
Fast forward again, to April. Several months have passed since our gorgeous vacation and I find myself sad and missing our little brown dog. Morning walks to the great dog park close by that I have grown to love are still on the radar, but strange without my qualifying friend. I remember a video I watched on FB that a high school friend posted with the CEO of SoulCycle, an alumnus of her daughter’s school speaking to the student body. I have no idea why I watched it, but I did and thought to myself, “I like this company. I like their philosophy. What a great message for these young people.” Seed planted.
My mornings were uncomfortable to say the least. And I needed something new. Structure. Community. Movement. What about spinning? Shrug of shoulders, what the heck. Remembered SoulCycle and the video. Our friend’s five year old son had said that our sweet brown dog was now in heaven with his grandfather and Michael Jackson and his fish, which took me by surprise and brought a much needed lighthearted laugh. An explanation from his mom followed that his little soul envisioned heaven by these resident angels. So when I peeked at the spin schedule for the time slot I had in mind and the class description was a theme ride reading “Michael Jackson”. I was sold. (Apparently the seeds led to this moment and sign and off I went. I already wrote about this during Lent when all of this was going on in my life.) Door opens.
Only two short months later. I have not only crossed the threshold, I am all in. A regular enthusiastic cycler with her own shoes and favorite instructors. I love the entire experience. Body, mind, and spirit. JOY. I joke that it is the closest thing to a flash mob I will ever be a part of (be careful what you wish for, right?) It’s a dance party on a bike in the dark with loud music and someone saying some really motivating sh#t. A bit of Sunday morning on a Tuesday afternoon. Plus exponential sweat. Some Oprah moments happen for me on that bike. I thought it might be fleeting. Not yet.
And once again, I am reminded that my reactionary NO isn’t always the end of the story. It’s the beginning.
xo,b
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