One of the things I could have prepared myself better for is car parking in Edinburgh. It has been an absolute nightmare so far. I have a ridiculous amount of seven (!) parking tickets to show for it. In six weeks. This must be an all-time record. Apparently, there are many things to consider when parking your car, like for instance the limitations of a parking permit. I have learned the hard way that a parking permit provided by the council comes with many exceptions and I have seen them all. I also learned that parking control is highly frequent. Leaving your car for two days on a wrong spot can come at great expense. A small comfort in all this: other locals have shared similar experiences. But nobody dared the amount of seven tickets.

Even though technically I don’t think I have a leg to stand on, I am appealing four of the seven fines. With a bit of luck a few tickets will be revoked or reduced. I can’t say I am proud of the whole ordeal. I am actually embarrassed. Not to mention the financial implications. Note to self: read up on parking rules and street signs before moving to a new cosmopolitan city.

Pushing new limits

For the longest time I’ve been hearing about yoga. It is supposed to be good for the soul, good for the mind, good for the body. It’s been recommended to me more times than I can remember. I have that fast pace lifestyle sometimes: always being out and about, working long hours, rushing from one activity to another (nothing to worry about, as it is one of the side effects of FoMO). Yoga would be an excellent tool in life to balance that pace, I’ve been told.

Resentment is a too strong a word, but yoga was never for me. Just as the sauna, the massage salon and other beauty spa related activities are generally not to my liking. Last year, for instance, I didn’t know how quickly to get out of a Budapest thermal bath. My friends barely noticed me sneaking out right after we entered. I went for a city stroll instead. It is no surprise that I prefer showers over baths…

There is comfort and there is…yoga

But as things can change, I recently got introduced to yoga. I have my roommate to thank for that. She is a dedicated yoga practioner and very much enjoys it. At the level of waking up an hour early every morning to practice yoga. A true believer, I would say. So, there it was. My first yoga class. The first session was close to hilarious. Not in a laugh out loud hilarious, but in a ‘what is she doing here’ kinda hilarious. Something a bystander would have definitely said if there to witness.

From a personal point of view, it was like I was in a different country. A ‘foreign' experience. I did not speak the language and was unfamiliar with the customs. Let alone the physical challenges of the different stretches and postures. Now, I am a few months in and it is all still very new to me. Other than one meditation class in my teenage years where I still remember dozing off during, yoga is different than anything else I’ve done before. Strangely enough, that’s what I like about it. I am being pushed out of my comfort zone.

Physical vs. spiritual

I see the benefits of yoga. I do. I can understand that practising yoga on a regular basis can have a positive physical effect. It’s good for posture. Yoga teaches you to sit up straight, drop down the shoulders, relax and be aware of natural breathing. During the most awkward postures – my muscles are being stretched to their limits every time - the instructor asks you, in the friendliest manner possible, to keep on breathing naturally. That is usually when I start to freak out: “What? Do I have to breath here?” Being so focused on the stretch itself, breathing becomes secondary.

The hardest part for me, is to truly commit to the spiritual side of yoga. During class all attendees are required to let go of all thoughts and tribulations, to ‘devote all energy in the moment’. Easier said than done. To do’s are flying around in my head all the time. Hard to switch that off. Plus, you have to be in the right state of mind to attend a yoga class. Rushing your way through traffic and arriving at the threshold with less than two minutes to spare before the start of the class, is probably not the best way to zone out and commit. I guess it’s all about awareness. Very slowly, I am becoming more aware. I think.

It’s fair to say that I am not yet in my element. That is exactly why it is good to keep this up and continue my yoga. Give it a real chance. Maybe someday, I will announce a yoga retreat as my next travel destination. Wouldn’t that be something? 😊