Why I hate crowds // Bitch it out

Wednesday I got to my Hartford studio, walked into my power yoga class, and this was my reaction:

There is NOTHING I hate more than walking into an over-full yoga class.  I went with two other co-workers and we asked if there was room for three more.  They replied yes.  They should have replied no.  There was hardly space between mats.  So, I took a spot at the front (right in front of a heater sticking out of the wall), laid on my mat, and attempted to calm my stress over the crowded room.

Class begins.  First vinyasa.  BOOM.  I hit the guy behind me with my foot.  Yes, he is in fact TALLER than his mat and would get entirely too close to me.  Great.  Looks like this won't be fun.  The rest of class I half-assed every pose because I was scared to continually hit him.  I couldn't move up because there was a wall - and the heater sticking out of the wall.  Then, I started focusing on every other person (and getting super grossed out); their sweat getting all over the place, people touching other peoples mat, and even peoples feet.  The crowd not only stressed me out but ruined my entire practice.  I was not being a yogi - I was being a judgmental bitch.

I spent a lot of time during my "practice" that day (I use the term loosely considering it was more I just moved my body around and didn't do much) thinking about how much I hate crowds.  It isn't that I hate people, I just hate a large amount of them in one spot.

For example, at work I prefer medium size projects (15-20 people is perfect) but I can't stand large projects - I will become a hermit and do NOTHING social.  Another example is this summer I went to Italy and Greece with Megan.  July in Rome was HORRIBLE.  The crowds and heat made it for one of the most miserable days of my life - making me hate Rome when in reality I just hated the crowds.  We had to wait in line every where - we couldn't even get on a tourist bus.  There was a three hour wait to get into the Colosseum so we ended up not being able to get in because of the timing. 

Unfortunately, crowds are a part of life.  You can try to avoid them but sometimes they are unavoidable.  A 6PM power yoga class is a prime time spot.  Rome in July is a prime time vacation month.  And, large clients at work will happen.  What this alludes to is practicing patience and gratitude for other things (the ability to practice, the opportunity to be in Rome, and being fortunate enough to have a job).  Patience is not my thing; I don't have a patient bone in my body.  But, it is something I plan to work on.