And finally... I become one, too..

So, I finally did it... last week, after numerous friends have gone on and on about the awesomeness that is Lululemon yoga pants... I finally went to the store and tried some on. Now, first of all let me say... I never doubted everyone's claims that they were of an awesome quality or that they made you look like you'd lost 5 pounds as soon as you put them on... I just doubted that either one of those things was actually worth $80 of my hard-earned money.

After a yoga class last week, I noticed... hmmm.. I seem to be playing with my yoga pants a lot during class. I'm always pulling them up during class... and I feel like they don't hold me in.. in certain poses, I feel like my loose flab is spilling out all over the place and therefore making my seated forward folds (of which the primary series of ashtanga has a zillion of!) harder than they have to be. So, I decided after class that it was time check out some other options... and Lululemon seemed like my best bet.

I went into the store and immediately headed to yoga pants section. I knew what I wanted... they had to be capri's and they had to be tights, I don't like loose fabric. After talking to a sales associate, I took some back into the dressing room and tried them on.

Just as I expected... it wasn't a life changing experience. Sure, the pants fit snugly and didn't give me too much of a muffin top (my greatest fear!)  but they also didn't make me look 5 pounds lighter. I opted for the bigger size of the two sizes I tried on (I tried 8's and 10's on) and I walked away from the store with 2 pairs. One pair is reversible, so I guess it's kinda like having 3 pair.. except, I sweat a lot in yoga.. so... it's not like I'll actually be able to just reverse them and wear them the next day. Oh well.

This past weekend I went to NYC and on Friday night, I took a class at the yoga studio that my friend teaches at.. and it was his class... I wore my new Lululemon pants to class... but, it was a deep relaxation and meditation class, so the only pose we actually did was cobra pose. So, I still didn't know if the pants were worth their hefty price tag.

Saturday, we were signed up for a 3 hour workshop with the teacher that I did the yoga retreat in December with (he owns the studio where my friend teaches) and I wore my pants to that class, too. We were running uber late and I was literally running through the streets to get to class and so by the time I got there and got on my mat, I was already sweating. Blargh! But, I noticed that the pants seemed to actually keep me cooler than I would have been in some of my other yoga pants and then, folks, that was the last time I thought about my yoga pants for the next 3 hours. No pulling or tugging at my pants, no feeling of my flabby stomach oozing out all over the place during forward folds.

And after class when I realized that I hadn't thought about my pants the whole time... is when I decided that yes... they are worth the money. Certainly I can do yoga in my other pants, but, the beauty in these pants is that I was able to focus on my practice and not get stuck on thinking about how I looked in my pants, how my pants were fitting, etc... not thinking about what I was wearing was the best attribute of these pants.

I've been talking to friends lately about how I'm trying to change my mindset regarding purchases. And this Lululemon purchase is a good step in the right direction for me. Sure, I spent $150 on two pairs of yoga pants last week. But, when will I have to buy more? Not until they are literally worn out. How often have I shelled out $15-20 on cheaper yoga tights and yet, still with 4-5 pairs, I'm still always looking on the sale racks at TJ Maxx and Marshalls for yet another $15-20 pair, that might fit better than the other pairs I have. It's never ending cycle of ending up with yoga pants that don't fit perfectly, but I bought them because they were cheap. So, now instead of having a drawer full of ill-fitting (but cheap!) yoga pants... I can have two pairs that I'm totally stoked about!

So, yes, I'm a Lululemon convert and now I'm starting to think... If their yoga pants can hold me in that well... can their yoga tops and bras hold in my girls so that I don't feel like I'm suffocating myself when in shoulderstand? I have a feeling I'll find out in a couple of months, when it's time to treat myself to another Lululemon purchase...