Thoughts During Yogilates

     I know, right. CCG says she went to some classy yet 
made-up sounding exercise class and wants you to take the 
time out of your day to read about it. But actually…
     Don’t worry, I promise I’m telling you the truth. Not 
only is Yogilates a legitimate form of exercise, but it also 
provides an intense combination of both the physical and 
mental benefits of both yoga and pilates. Maybe you could 
have guessed that, maybe you’re new to this. The point is; 
the class I took was awesome!
     I’ve been pushing myself this summer, vamping up my 
regular exercise routine of core, elliptical, biking and 
lifting by including running in the mix. Even throughout my 
travel soccer days and semester of track, I’ve always hated 
running. Something in me changed this summer though. I realized 
that I hated it because it was hard. Because I had to work at 
it in order to reach the goals I kept setting for myself. This 
may not have appealed to my younger self, but the current me 
gladly took up the challenge!
     As of right now, my runs will average between three and 
six miles. I’ve learned not to be fooled by the ease of a 
treadmill run — especially on the days when my gym’s cardio 
theater is playing concert videos of Beyoncé’s “On the Run” 
tour. Outdoor runs are HARD. Not only are you going up and 
down as you do on a treadmill, as my brilliant roommate 
pointed out as I complained about my exhaustion after a 
morning run, but you’re also using energy to push yourself 
forward! Not to mention, the resistance and incline levels 
change more frequently and drastically. Believe me, if you’re 
looking to push yourself, put on your sneakers and just jog 
out the door!
     Now back to Yogilates. With all the running that I have 
been doing this summer, increasing the time I spend stretching, 
and thus my muscle flexibility, has become incredibly important 
to me. Running put a lot of stress on all sorts of muscles and 
joints in your body and in order to keep increasing the 
intensity of your workouts, you are going to need to make sure 
to take care of yourself! Both yoga and pilates are great ways 
to get this more-than-necessary stretching done. Today I did 
both in one class and I found it to work even better! The 
tightness from today’s morning run is completely gone, and my 
prediction of tomorrow needing to be my rest day was wrong. 
     The instructor of the Yogilates class was interesting. 
During the exercises she would repeat mantras that included 
the word “melt.” Like “melt into the floor” or “melt into 
yourself.” Visually, I was guessing that going down from sea 
curve, “one vertebrae at a time” could be seen as a slow form 
of “melting” into the floor. But to melt into oneself? 
     The meaning came to me during our ending meditation. The 
instructor mentioned many words of thanks, and then said to 
“take the light within yourselves and let it shine.” In that 
instant I understood. We should melt ourselves down to our very 
core, our center, our essence, and take the goodness from there 
and let it exude around us. 
     This is a goodness, a light that no one can take away from 
us. It’s the most important part of who we are and we shouldn’t 
be afraid to let others see it.
     So take a Yogilates class or don’t — you totally should 
though — but most importantly, take a moment to “melt into 
yourself” each day and let your inner light start making it’s 
way through the world!
 stay classy! xx