Let’s see. . . It was when I was a senior in college. That was six years ago. Six years ago I took my first yoga class. Well, it was yoga/pilates but I quickly fell in the love with the yoga postures, not giving a second thought to the pilates. I loved how graceful the poses looked, moving in slow simultaneous motion with the other bodies around me. I loved the way it made me feel afterward, my muscles groaning from a workout in which I was unaware I was participating in at the time.
It was all brand new then, but it wasn’t always graceful. There were times I felt my poor teacher was going to turn blue, trying to speak my body into position. And I felt very silly, not being able to mentally connect with her instructions like the rest of the class. But I kept going back with my friends, who had convinced me to sign up with them.
It was all a new experience and a discipline.
I have always liked new things, new experiences. I have welcomed change with all the eagerness of a child with a new friend. Yet as I get older, I understand the mental roadblocks many face when it comes time to motivate change. The older I get, the more responsibilities I obtain, the more obligations I acquire, and the less time I have to rest.
So, it’s hard to fill our rare and precious personal time with exercise. But, as hard as it may be to motivate those things in our lives, we rarely regret it afterward.
And that’s what I love about yoga too. Yoga is my personal time. It is my time to unplug and embrace silence in a sacred space, while also doing something for every aspect of my physical self.
With what disciplines do you struggle? Make a commitment to change something this year. What can you change?
