BE EMBARRASSED. BE UNCOMFORTABLE.

Aug 28, 2018
3 min read

Ya'll. I am not a graceful, delicate swan. I am pretty good on a horse, sure, but I never took a dance class growing up. So, if you ever get me in a situation where I have to do a choreographed dance routine (think Zumba)... get your popcorn ready because you are in for a treat, my friend.

All that to say, I have been intrigued by Barre Class for awhile now and since this year I have been super motivated to better myself in all aspects of my life (thanks to the Mompreneur Podcast and Rachel Hollis), I decided to give this Barre class a shot.

I waited about 10 months to do it because I was convinced I needed to first be in some sort of shape... other than round. When an older lady in my yoga class mentioned that I shouldn't have a problem with Barre because it borrowed a lot of movements from yoga, I thought "Well, heck. I should be proficient at this, I've been doing yoga [off and on] for about 11 years now!"

If you haven't heard about Barre classes before, here's a short description:

"Barre fitness classes are simply ballet-inspired, incorporating a ballet barre and maybe some plies and pirouettes here and there into the workout. Essentially, barre classes mix elements of Pilates, dance, yoga and functional training, and the moves are choreographed to motivating music." (via wellbridge.com)

I walked into that first Barre class, placing my yoga mat just one mat away from the front of the class, stretched out and waited, confident that I was not going to be terrible at this.

Then the class started.

No one told me how fast paced it was! When the music started I was immediately 3 steps behind everyone else looking like one of those blow-up Gumby looking things at car dealerships. Basically, I was doggy paddling to stay afloat.

Shaking and sweaty, I had gained back some semblance of self-respect by the end the class thanks to the few yoga moves-- I mean, I killed it at those sun salutations.

It was humbling. It was embarrassing. (I had put myself at the top of the class! What was I thinking?!)

Was I terrible at it? You bet ya. But you know what? I went back and plan on going back every Friday.

You may be wondering why I would continue to put myself in such an embarrassing situation. Well, like I said earlier, I am trying to better myself. I am trying to push my comfort zone this year and with growth you need to step outside of your comfort zone. You need to get uncomfortable. And yeah, you need to get embarrassed every once and awhile.

Growth doesn't happen inside of the familiar. Growth doesn't happen when you're comfortable. It's in that discomfort that you start to change and grow and get closer to your dreams and goals.

I have big goals for me, personally, and we have even bigger plans for our family. HUGE plans. Scary, take-a-leap-of-faith plans. Plans that we are in no way ready to share with you. Also, please don't ask because I am a really sucky secret keeper when it comes to myself-- No 20 questions either because I am a terrible liar, too!

AND no, it's not a baby. (At least not yet, anyway.)

But if I didn't step into that Barre class and out of my comfort zone, I wouldn't have ever gotten a killer workout and realized that, even though I am terrible at it, I like Barre class. I may never be a beautiful ballerina but I know I am going to get in better shape... and maybe I will gain some sort of grace! Maybe?

You are your biggest critic, remember that. You are also your biggest motivator. So I am ending this by encouraging you to be embarrassed. Be uncomfortable. Grow. Dream. Reach. Crush it.