Yoga

I have decided I'm going to start doing more yoga and pilates. I enjoy pilates and have done yoga a handful of times, but I've always been sort of inclined to believe that in order to get a good workout, you have to run and move and flex your muscles and finish exhausted and sweaty, with all muscles aching. It's the reason I prefer tennis to golf or running to walking. I feel like I need to work hard to get a good workout. I'm not saying that pilates and yoga don't do this (if you do them right) but I have just always seen them as more "passive" ways to exercise. I would imagine that, if you do yoga and/or pilates, you are reading this and saying "You just wait...it's much harder than you think" because the few times I've done it, that's what I've thought.
Ok, so anyway. I'm going to start doing more of it. I think I need to find a way to exercise that doesn't strain my muscles and joints as hard (I sound like an old lady) and I think I need a time each day where I can just be with myself and sort of meditate or whatever you do in there that relieves stress.
So I'm going to the 9:30 yoga class at my gym. I like the idea of going to the gym because it's not an actual yoga studio and they don't expect you to show up all yoga-ed out in your flared-leg pants with matching lotus-printed cami and carrying your color-coded mat, one for each day of the week. I can wear my sweats and feel somewhat comfortable. I'm actually excited about going. I've been trying to go to this class for about a month, but between staph infections and sick kids, we've been homebound alot. So today is an exciting day. But in the back of my mind, there is a looming thought. It plagues me whenever I hear the words yoga and pilates and imagine myself in a classroom full of women in strange poses. I think of it often and if you have had children, you may or may not understand the problem I am having. What if I toot? I don't have a lot of control over those areas right now, if you know what I mean, and although I do my doctor-recommended exercises somewhat regularly, I'm still prone to releasing something if I cough, laugh or bend too hard. So wish me luck this morning. Let's all just hope I don't humiliate myself to the point of no return. Because I have a three year contract at the gym.