My Day At The OM Yoga Show, Olympia, London

I have had a couple of bad experiences with yoga, attending what was meant to be the first session of a beginners courses to find everyone else bending in multiple directions & me just sitting on my mat thinking how they hell do they do that

Yoga seemed elitest to me, everyone seemed to be an expert, I felt like everyone was looking at me thinking what is she doing here, she can’t even do a downward dog (I am actually surprised I even know what the pose is, but that proves how many classes I have sat in on and wanted to feel a part of)

Pilates on the other hand I love, again I am far from supple but I always felt welcome in a Pilates Class, my experience has been that the instructor moves around the room, correcting your positions if necessary or helping you move deeper into a position, a few years ago when I was running a lot I really found Pilates helped me stretch out my muscles and seemed to keep injuries at bay, but I can’t find a local Pilates class at times I am able to attend whereas Yoga studio’s are popping up everywhere and everyone I know raves about it and after the year I have had I love the idea of the meditation aspect of it

So when I saw a competition on Lucy Lunges blog to win two tickets to the OM yoga show, I decided to leave it to fate, if yoga and me was meant to be then winning these tickets would be my opportunity to give it another try – Thanks Lucy

I was still apprehensive about attending I looked online at the selection of classes that were available a few charged a small fee but most were free and open on a first come basis

Both my friend and I were keen on the Boxing Yoga class, I naively thought because I enjoyed boxercise I would enjoy this and it would be similar.. Think Nikki think!!

Here’s what Boxing Yoga have to say about their class

A BoxingYoga™ class merges boxing technique with traditional and innovative yoga postures in a 60-minute class format. The four stages of the class are performed in one continuous movement sequence to music, with intensity adapted to participant’s needs and ability.

There was still a lot I couldn’t keep up with and there were some very basic positions I am not sure I will ever be able to gracefully get into, but depsite this session being held in full view of the hundreds of people visiting the show for once I didn’t feel paranoid about my efforts & OMG I was surprised how much I could already feel it in my core – just how out of shape have I gotten?

Next was the I ❤ Wellicious – Open Your Heart session, this class was pure fun, and if it was run locally I would definitely make an effort to attend

As well as there being classes to try there was also lots of exhibitors & as I am a sucker for a protein bar this was something I was very excited about, lots to try and even more to buy

I admit I went a bit crazy especially on the Ombar’s but I have not seen them in the shops so this was a perfect opportunity to give the various different varities without the steep postage costs, my favourite purchases are definitely my Yogi Tea‘s Chai Latte & the Ombar, I still have to try my Bakewell Tart Nakd Bar (why can’t I buy these in the supermarket) and the Pulsin Bars

We finished the day off with a quick visit to Nando’s before I headed over to Battersea Park to take part in the 5k Poppy Run

Thank you again Lucy for the tickets, it has definitely given me the confidence to try BYE your Hot Yoga Studio