Let me preface this by saying that I am not someone who loves to exercise. Don’t get me wrong, I played tennis in high school, and every winter hosted a ski trip for my family. But, I was never one who ended up enjoying it. In addition to my fall tennis season, I began to box. Unusual, yes, but I felt that just maybe it would have a calling for me. Well, it didn’t. When Covid hit, I began to go on long walks with my family when there was nothing else to do; this I liked. I continued until I got to college, where I felt like walking to classes was enough. My occasional visit to the gym was less than enjoyable, so I only graced them with my presence about 5 times. It was not that I didn’t want to work out; it was that I had not found how I liked to do it.
So here I am this summer when my mom texts me about a yoga studio in my hometown. I had tried yoga in the past, but I had found it incredibly boring and, honestly, too hard. Despite that, I decided to give it a try. I could not believe I enjoyed myself. Not only was the ambiance and atmosphere perfect, but I felt like my mind and body, for once, were working together during a workout. Usually, as I would walk my 6-3-30 on the treadmill, my eyes would be laser-focused on the timer. I would stare it down, hoping that somehow, the time would pass quicker. Unfortunately, it felt even slower.
So, when I found that yoga did not do this to me, I decided to stick to it. I practiced yoga for two months, and for me, that’s a long time to stick to a form of exercise. Yoga has many foundations, but one is that it is a meditation for our minds and that the physical results are just an addition to the practice. Instead of waiting for my yoga practice to be over, I would be cultivating my mind to become stronger and sharper. Each class was also 75 minutes, a number I would have considered unfathomable in the past. And yet, I always seemed to forget about time completely when I stepped foot into the door of the studio. From yin to vinyasa, yoga can provide everyone with an activity that trains both your body and your mind. If you are like me, someone who never liked to actually work out, maybe yoga will be for you. I leave you off with a quote by Rolf Gates: “yoga is not a workout; it’s a work in.” While you are changing your body, you are also changing the way you feel inside.