Trying new things can be hard. Especially if we are not accustomed to stepping outside of our comfort zone regularly. Therefore, if you have never attended a yoga studio before, it might feel nerve wracking. You may even find yourself thinking some of the following…
What is something that all humans have in common? After decades of interviewing a range of individuals from Barack Obama to Beyonce to top entrepreneur's and everyday folk, Oprah Winfrey shared that at the end of each interview, her guest would turn to her and quietly ask ‘Was that OK?’ It was through these moments that she discovered that most of us are asking the following questions as we move through life:
I'm all too familiar with staying in a 'safe space' of what is familiar or comfortable but I've learnt over the years that I need to become comfortable with discomfort (although this is a daily practice). Particularly when it comes to trying new things. We might stay in our comfort zone for many reasons: fear of looking silly, fear of failure, fear of judgement, fear of truly being seen, fear of not living in the box that we have put ourselves in, or that others have put us in (how obedient of us!) The list goes on. I've discovered however, that once we courageously push through a fear, it's amazing how the force of that fear loses momentum and we realise that the worst part of the experience was fear itself. Often the outcome is a lot more underwhelming than we might have thought! You might ask yourself, Why on earth was I so afraid? The good news is, for that bravery we are usually rewarded in some way. Whether its learning a new skill, building confidence in a certain area, making a new connection, gaining respect for ourselves or from others, or even learning a lesson if things don't go the way we had hoped. Most importantly we strengthen our courage 'muscle' 💪
I recently reviewed the Gymshark Elevate Leggings and whilst ordering these I saw that there was an Elevate Longline Bra that was also designed with yoga in mind. I decided to give this a go as I was drawn to how it looked and I was curious how the two products would work together as a set. Summary Like the Elevate leggings, I think that the longline bra’s greatest asset is how it looks visually. I love the ruched detail at the chest and the fabric that sits flat under the bust is very flattering. The material is soft against your skin and it provides adequate light support for practicing yoga. If you are someone who feels self conscious of your chest/cleavage being exposed then this might not be the top for you as it is a very open design with not the greatest coverage when bending over. Overall it’s a cute crop-top with a few caveats. More detail below!
I’d been curious about Gymshark for a while and I had visited their site multiple times. It took me a little while to figure out what leggings they recommended for yoga but after a bit of clicking around I came across the Elevate line. I’ve tried the Longline bra from this collection as well, but this review will be focusing purely on the leggings. Summary I wanted to love these leggings but if I’m being completely honest, I don’t recommend these as yoga clothing. I’ll go into it more below but long story short, I experienced pretty bad rolling at the waist (across several sizes) and because of this point, they aren’t very functional. On a positive note - I do love the way they look visually, they provide great stretch and are very flattering. All in all, this is a pretty mixed bag of a review!