When I started yoga classes, I thought a lot about the phrase “just for fun”.

The yoga-nition of “fun” seemed to be “damn near impossible”, based on what was generally demonstrated when that “f-word” was invoked in class.  I would wonder what that woman (always in mental-italics) does for fun on a Saturday night. This thought was generally accompanied by a fervent wish to never find out.  Ever.

I could almost never do these “fun” poses. Well, not like I thought the teacher wanted me to anyway. I would fall out of the balancing poses and never quite make it into the deep stretchy ones. For a long time, I felt like I was failing to do the poses, and like many adults, I had long ago concluded that failing wasn’t any fun.

For a long time, I felt like I was failing to do the poses, and like many adults, I had long ago concluded that failing wasn’t any fun.

But then I noticed something.  These “fun” poses were kind of interesting.

I started to think that it was fun when something new crossed my path. I didn’t look like the cover of Yoga Journal when I tried them, but challenging myself was its own kind of fun. The kind of fun I remember my grade school self having when I mastered a new physical skill like riding a bike or walking on top of my neighbor’s fence.

…challenging myself was its own kind of fun.

When I first started teaching, I could barely say “just for fun” with a straight face.  Just a few years later, it took an audible groan and dramatic eye-rolling from a regular student before I caught myself saying it.

I hope it has the same effect on my students as it has had on me.  I hope it expands their definition of fun to return to the process of learning new things and mastering new physical skills. After all, that’s a part of being a kid that we can all stand to spend more time mastering.