If you told me two months ago I would plan my day with even an ounce of excitement based on the fact that I was going to a spin class, I would have said you were nuts. I am the person, after all, who has been known to quip that when it comes to a spin class, “I’d rather put pins in my eyes!” I am far from a reformed anti-spinner, but there has been a shift.
To be perfectly honest, spin class held no allure because I was highly suspect of the enjoyment someone could receive from sitting on a bike for an hour, being yelled at to “take it up a gear,” while being assaulted by loud incoherent music? Add to that….you spend an hour going NO WHERE! I can’t catch up to the guy four inches in front of me no matter how hard I pedal.
Yet, the spinning has something. It has an opportunity for me to learn something new. It gives me the highly human need to be humbled with my absolute novice spinning abilities. And, it gives me another human need…to be connected. I’ve met Dave, a sixty something year old that can sing to the rap music. There’s Nadine who I’m either selling on joining our Y or doing a good job at scaring her away with my enthusiasm. And, there is my friend Sallie who encourages me to come saddle up on the bike next to hers and helps me laugh my way through the arduous ‘hill’ climbs.
In so many ways it reminds me of going to the yoga mat for the first time. That rectangular piece of rubber was a foreign land. I thought it was not for me. But when I uncovered the mystery and let my defenses rest what I found was an amazing place to strengthen not only my muscles but my mind. I found a place of challenge and comfort. I found a place of serenity and safety. I am not sure I will ever use those same attributes for spin class and that is understandable. What I do understand is that we should always keep our minds open and our acceptance wide…and every now and again take something new for a spin.