She is a wife, doggy-momma, musician, wedding planner, and powerful practitioner at 502 Power Yoga. When asked to describe herself in five words, Baely answered, “First and foremost, Nerdy. Artistic, fun-loving, analytic, and stubborn. My husband definitely wouldn’t let me leave out the word ‘stubborn’…” Baely began her yoga journey back in the fall when Hannah Clore invited her to her first ever yoga class. To set the scene, it is a 6 AM Power Yoga Class with the amazing Mimi Hahn.
502: Tell us about that first class.
I had a lot of expectations in my mind of what it would be like- all of which, of course, were completely inaccurate. I thought it would be very mild and relaxing. I did not expect for it to be as intense as it is. I remember thinking during the sun salutations that this was harder than any workout I’d done with my personal trainer. Somehow, by the grace of some higher power, I made it through the entire class. Completing that first class made me feel so strong and powerful. I started practicing regularly during the 40 Days to a Personal Revolution program in January, and I’ve been obsessed/in love with it ever since.
502: During the 40 Days program, you said the biggest change was how you viewed yourself.
I realized I would look at the mirror, and say, “I don’t like this. I don’t like this. I don’t like this…” During the 40 days program, I didn’t look in the mirror for 2 days, which was more difficult than I initially thought because there are mirrors everywhere begging you to look at yourself. It became really eye opening how much time I waste criticizing myself… Now, I think about the poses I never thought I would be able to do before, and I get really happy when I get into them because I think, “Ha, you couldn’t do this like 2 months ago.”
502: What are your favorite and least favorite poses?
I love poses that make me feel open, like half-moon and fish pose. I have a love/hate relationship with twisting poses and chair pose. I’ve definitely been going through the internal struggle of realizing that some pain is OK. The discomfort I feel in my legs during chair pose is OK, and I don’t have to run from it. (This is a lesson I’m taking with me off the mat as well.) So even my least favorite poses I kind of love, because they teach me something about myself.
What kept you coming back to 502PY after the 40 Days to a Personal Revolution Program?
I love how yoga makes me feel powerful. It makes me feel more present in my body, and it makes me feel like I’m more capable of handling day-to-day life. Yoga has taught me so much about how I view the world and how I view myself. I’ve learned so much about myself since I started practicing, and it’s been a truly invaluable experience for me. In addition to that, I have found that everyone I’ve met at 502PY is so encouraging, warm, and welcoming, that you can’t help but feel like you’re part of a family. Even on days when my body does not want to practice, I come for the people.
What are some of your yoga goals for the next year?
I keep waiting to hear when the next training to be a Studio Class Assistant will be (Hi, Cat and Sarah!) so I can jump on that. Then, in the next few years, I’d love to do the teacher training. In terms of my personal yoga practice, I am determined to get into tripod headstand, and be able to hold crow for more than 2 seconds. I’m also working on wheel pose a lot in my personal practice.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In 5 years, I would love to be working for myself as an event/wedding coordinator. I’m working my way towards that dream right now, but I not ready to give up the day job just yet. I’d also like to be teaching yoga and sharing it with the people around me. And lastly, in 5 years I would love to be a mom.
What does being a YES mean to you?
Being a yes to me means being open to the possibility that anything can happen. Being open to the possibility that my body can do more than I expect of it, being open to the thought that I can reach my goals no matter how impossible they seem, and disregarding the negativity and self-doubt that pop up on and off the mat. Being a yes means that when a teacher says try on tripod headstand, instead of telling myself I’m incapable, I look for what I am capable of doing. I can get my head to the mat and my arms in the correct position. I can work towards getting my hips over my shoulders. I can try every time to pull knees to my triceps. If I fall, so what? Being a yes means being open to the process and the experience.
We love having Baely as a practitioner at 502 PY and see big things for her future in our community. Thank you for sharing and inspiring us through your yoga practice!
Check out Baely’s work at her Wedding Coordinator Facebook page.
Yoga lingo. We throw it around like everyone speaks Sanskrit. One of our favorite Yogi phrases to throw around: off the mat.
When we are “On the mat” we Tadasana, Utkatasana, Utthita Trikonasana, and Adho Mukha Svanasana But when we talk about a practice “off the mat” – we mean the stuff yogis take with them out of the studio and into the world.
5 Things I Have Taken “Off the Mat”
1. I think I’m a good listener, but am I? I have always identified as a “good listener.” But in classes at 502PY, I’m realizing that I am not always listening.
In yoga, you know when you aren’t listening. When you’re in Mountain Pose and everyone else is Chaturanga-ing, you definitely weren’t paying attention. On the mat, I laugh these moments off and find my way to the correct pose. Off the mat, it’s made me think more critically: where else and with whom am I not truly listening?
2. Where do I add extra crap in my life? I can hear Sarah’s voice now. “GUYS, some of you are tugging on your tank top, fixing your hair, wiping sweat from your face before moving into Crescent Lunge. Just go into Crescent Lunge. Go there, without adding that extra crap.”
I add a lot of “extra” to my life. When I get home from work, I notice that I spend the first 20 minutes thinking about what I need to do. “I should roll up my yoga mat.” “I should put a load of laundry in.” “I should make dinner.” Why on Earth am I not just doing these things instead of thinking about doing them? My tendency to make mental lists stalls me from taking action. And life is about taking action. I know what I need to do and where I need to be. I need to just go there; anything else is extra crap.
3. Breath builds power. This has been my simplest, and most entertaining, lesson learned from practice at 502PY. Remembering to breathe is so important to our yoga practice. And we don’t just breathe any old way; we practice Ujjayi breathing. Ujjayi breath is “victorious breath” a.k.a. “sounds-like-the-ocean breath” a.k.a. “Darth Vader breath.” It builds heat in your physical body; it builds calm and focus in your mental body.
Two recent moments when I took Ujjayi breathing off my mat:
1) At work. When an incident at work left me wanting to scream at the top of my lungs, I closed my office door, took a few deep Ujjayi breaths, and brought myself back to calm/appropriate/professional Carrie.
2) Before a date! When some last-minute nerves crept up, I paused, breathed, and kicked the worry and stress to the curb.
4. Together we can do things we cannot do alone. This has been the biggest breakthrough, and the biggest challenge, for me to take off my mat. I’m an extremely independent person. I used to cringe when people spouted, “Together we can do things we cannot do alone.” I thought it was baloney. I thought it only applied to those people who couldn’t figure out how to do things on their own. I’m not exactly proud to write that, but it’s true.
I’ll never forget the first time the 502PY community proved me wrong. The class was in Tree Pose, and we were asked to go back, to try on a mini-backbend. I went, I bent, I did okay. Then, the teacher told us to stay in Tree, press our hands against our neighbors’, and go back again. And I went back deeper, more gracefully than I ever had. I stood up, mind blown. It was undeniable, anatomical proof that with the pressure and support of a row of yogis, I went somewhere I could not go alone. I still have a lot of work to do on this topic, but today when I think about my career, my relationships, my interactions with strangers, I often catch myself going back to that Tree Pose moment.
5. Rest is how you rebuild, how you come out stronger. I love this. I love Savasana at the end of a yoga class, and I love what it stands for. Savasana, or final resting pose, isn’t about napping or checking out from all the work you just did. Savasana is when you give yourself permission to rest and absorb the benefits of your practice. It’s the part where your body rebuilds so that when you sit up in a few minutes, you are stronger than you were when you entered the studio that day. (You know how when you install updates on your computer, and, after all of the whirring and downloading, the computer needs to close all programs and restart? Yeah, Savasana’s kinda like that.)
We need to be taking Savasana all the time off our mats.
We live in this fast-paced, crazy, demanding world. Self-care, rest, and fun is so important, and often so overlooked. In the studio, the teacher tells us when to take Savasana. Off the mat, we have to create our own Savasana, and we have to do it without feeling guilty. Savasana is our reset button.
If you’d asked me a few years ago, I’d have said I wasn’t buying “off the mat.” No way. But today, I spend my days with an incredible community at 502 PY, and I’m seeing the off the mat practice come to life.
Over ten months ago, Paul Bruner invited me to join him for a yoga class at 502 Power Yoga. Even with him consistently inviting me, the best I could agree to for a while was to join Paul for a class when I was “less busy.” It wasn’t until seven months ago that I was free enough to agree to practice next to Paul in my first yoga class. Until my first class with Cat Larimore, I didn’t imagine I’d ever like yoga at all.
5 things I didn’t expect from Yoga:
I am a yogi.
Yogis are simply people who practice Yoga. This may not seem profound, but considering I walked into 502PY believing that in order to qualify as a yogi, I had to be at least 3 of the following: 7% body fat, Vegan, Buddhist, semi-fluent in Sanskrit (with a minimum of 3 Sanskrit tattoos), or a pretzel. According to these expectations, I am 3 tattoos, about 5 pant sizes, some cheese and cultural barriers away from being a yogi. Little did I know, I am a yogi simply because I do Yoga. In 502PY’s diverse community, I practice Yoga with individuals who are different ages, shapes, and sizes and come from different backgrounds, cultures, and belief systems – and we are all yogis.
Falling is not failure.
Balancing my body weight on one foot or two palms allows me to experience my body in a new way – even if it is just for the moment before I fall on my face. In those moments, I am able to challenge myself to grow and push past my limits. I am often reminded by 502PY teachers that when I lose balance and G(g)race, it is not a failure, but the opportunity to begin again. My most glorious falls on and off the mat have led to my most powerful breakthroughs.
Deep breaths to deep rest.
If you go to a 502PY class, you are going to be asked to “turn on your ujjayi breath,” “turn up the corners of your mouth,” and “turn off your mind.” These simple requests proved to be the most challenging cues of all. Sure, I can physically hold boat pose even if it makes my abs and thighs burn – but can I hold boat pose while continuing to breathe? I intended for yoga to be a physical practice, and never expected the opportunity to smile and practice focus, acceptance, and clarity in every pose.
Mind-Body Connection.
As I struggled to maneuver into my first half-pigeon pose, I experienced “sensation” in my hip. With that sensation came a flood of emotions. At 502PY, the teachers like to say, “The issues are in your tissues,” and man, they aren’t lying. Through practicing, I have released ancient emotions and frustrations that I have carried in my hips over the past 24 years. I have cried, grunted, laughed all in the course of one frog pose. I never expected to develop insight to how my emotions and experiences are connected to my physical body. Yoga has helped me become aware of how diet and exercise effect my mental health, and how my stress affects my body.
Nah-I’m-a-stay & say, “Namaste.”
From day 1, 502PY has been a place where I am really seen. Eye contact, hugs, high fives, kicks, and clasped hands–human connection is vital to this community. To be honest, I never expected to be a part of a yogi community, or to embrace the tradition of saying, “Namaste.” In this busy world, obsessed with screens and social media, we so rarely get the opportunity to wholeheartedly acknowledge each other. So when class ends, I genuinely say, “Namaste” because I see and am seen.
There are many things I didn’t think would ever come from that first class with Cat, but in the past 7 months, I completed 40 Days to a Personal Revolution, joined the 502PY Assisting Team, graduated Teacher Training and now lead classes of my own. I definitely didn’t expect to grow with a community of yogis. I have uncovered my true potential and power to transform, all through the practice of yoga – the practice of breaking expectations.
I once heard someone say, “the only cure for Yoga-Sore is more Yoga.” While there is a lot of merit to this, there are also a lot of other kinds of sore. As someone who has experienced lower back spasms, soreness and pain from running, wrist pain, and general yoga soreness, the best advice I can give is “you do you.”
In other words, meet yourself where you are. The best way to avoid injury is by listening to your body. Pain is real. There are real times when you need to give your body rest. Our bodies do a lot for us every day and we need to respect that. There is also tightness, tired muscles, soreness, and general achiness. For those things, sometimes the best thing we can do is work it out.
Meeting yourself where you’re at does not mean doing the hardest variation of every pose because you know how. It means doing exactly what your body needs. That can look like dropping a knee in side-plank or staying in yogi squat instead of crow pose. It can also look like working your legs vigorously in Warrior II and then taking supported bridge for lower back pain.
Another part of meeting yourself where you are is realizing that there is no expectation, no bar to meet, no grading scale when you’re on your mat. It is a daily practice for me to step on my mat and tell myself “this is for me.” As a recovering perfectionist with a need for approval, this is a hard thing to swallow. My practice does not need to look like my neighbors’ or impress my teacher. It does not need to be ready for the cover of Yoga Journal or be Instagram likeable. It does need to feel good, it needs to stretch and work my body, it needs to strengthen and release, and it needs to be something I can be proud of right then and there. It needs to be for me.
So, should you practice yoga when you’re sore? Yes. Show up, do the work but take care of yourself. Allow yoga to restore your mind while you work out your kinks and soreness. Create a practice that serves you, and then take one heck of a Savasana.
**Disclaimer – I am not a medical professional. All statements are from personal experience.**
Let’s talk about sweat. I have heard women say on multiple occasions throughout my life, “I don’t sweat, I sparkle.” Previously as a runner and cross-fitter I rarely experienced sweat (or sparkle for that matter) in my workouts. Actually, I never did–ever. The first yoga class I had with 502 Power Yoga I was prepared for the 90 degree heat by being super hydrated, grabbing a towel once I entered the studio (although I did not think I needed it) and bringing in additional water. With that being said, I was NOT prepared for the sweat.
My laundry detergent was also not prepared for the sweat. Now I’m a lady so I won’t go into details, but my Pinterest research on “smelly gym clothes” provided me with loads of recommendations; I tried all of them. I tried adding baking soda. I tried white vinegar. I tried soaking. I tried not drying. All of my clothes still maintained a certain level of ‘ew’. It wasn’t until I finally got up the courage to ask a fellow yogi friend, Jess, about how she managed the sweat in her laundry that I discovered something as simple as Tide Sport was the answer.
With that problem solved, there are no longer concerns about odor or other potential issues with my yoga clothes impacting my yoga practice or my confidence. But more importantly I should not have been so embarrassed. Conversations about sweat are not the easiest to be had, but it isn’t going to break connections either.
Regardless of my previous sweat to sparkle ratio in physical activity, I can officially say I sweat at 502 PY and I do so knowing that no one judges me for it. Being part of a community that allows for questions, mistakes, falling out of tree pose for the 700th time that week, is ok. The reminders from teachers and assistants that falling out of a pose is perfect reminds all of us that just as we are is just how we should be in our lives. There is usually a sweaty Baptiste hug at the end of that 60 to 90 minute Vinyasa Flow waiting for me, and I love it. It has astounded me that adding yoga to my life has truly helped with self-confidence in such a big way and that’s regardless of sparkle, sweat or choice of laundry detergent.
Know always that the community at 502 Power Yoga is just that, a community. Come with questions. Come with hugs. Come as you are. Leave sweaty.
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