I went to take a spin class after a LONG hiatus away from the bike that I used to teach behind.

A place called CycleBar at the beach, where the vibe was a bit funky and it felt more like when you have to avoid the timeshare sales people. They were trying too hard to sell memberships, instead of building an irresistible community that you just had to be a part of.

The class itself was taught by a lovely young woman who suffered from what I can’t stand in any spin class, which is a lack of musicality. Why pump music so loud if you’re not actually going to use it. My body will NEVER allow me to ignore the rhythm. It is just not possible. So, what did I do?

I rode that bike the way my body wanted to. I didn’t give a shit about the “leaderboard” and the stats. I didn’t care to compete with anybody. I refused to please anyone but myself. It was a revolution for this recovering addict of everyone else’s comfort but my own. I locked in to the beat and rode with joy and it felt so good.

At the end of class, you are rewarded with an email that tells you how you did against the other riders in the class. And I was….drum roll please….32 out of 32 and I was so damn proud of myself. Because that would have gotten me in my feelings before. I would have felt bad about myself. I would have gone back to “prove” myself. But instead, I felt victorious. I felt like I had just received the evidence of my healing. The evidence that I had indeed shifted inside. And I cried tears of satisfaction and happiness. I was never so proud to receive an email before.

I had planned to return to the studio at some point to get back into teaching again but they never returned my emails after my “performance” in class, I suppose, as they were excited when I inquired about instructor positions when I first arrived. HAHAHA. Their loss, not mine because my classes were an experience! And will be again. In divine time, we all shine.

I ended up addicted to hot yoga shortly thereafter anyway and haven’t looked back though.

So, do YOU friends. Unapologetically.

Your heart will thank you.

xx - love you