In the past decade, yoga has blown up and become a very popular stress relieving activity for students, athletes, dancers, middle aged wives, moms, that girl that sits four rows up from you in class who proudly sports her I <3 Yoga Lululemon water bottle on her desk and you just KNOW she’s good at it and could probably contort herself into the entire alphabet, simultaneously making herself a detox smoothie, all while laughing at me as I struggle to touch my toes.
To be honest, I actually have so much admiration for those who like yoga and actively practice it. This may because to me, yoga is one of the most difficult activities ever. Because I’m God awful at it, I’ve been aggressively avoiding this activity altogether. I have in fact taken a few yoga classes here and there in the past and they just didn’t do it for me. The instructor had a very soft voice, not unlike the voice of the character Bruce from Family Guy.
He then proceeded to gracefully transition from one yoga position to the next, expectantly looking at us to follow suit. I couldn’t. I couldn’t hold the positions for longer than a few seconds. This is when I realized that #1) Yoga takes a lot of patience and core strength and that #2) I completely lack patience and core strength. After the vigorous part of the routine he moved onto mediation and got us to lay down on our backs, rest our hand on our stomachs and breathe deeply. I found this part to be much easier since I was literally just lying on the ground falling asleep.
Yoga is a recreational activity that takes a lot of skill. Like anything else, it takes effort and practice to become good at it. Thinking that I was going to be great at it right off the bat was my first problem as I stepped into that room. My second problem was that I had no flexibility whatsoever. In fact I still don’t. It has been years since I’ve done another yoga class but as I watch others do it, I feel inspired to give it another shot.
When I watch people skilled with the art of yoga do their thing, I find it to be very mesmerizing. They exhibit so much control and power with their bodies. Many yoga instructors I have spoken to claim that since doing yoga, their immune system has strengthened substantially and they have more energy throughout the day. It serves as a fantastic outlet for stress and clouded minds. I share this because if you too have sworn against doing yoga, perhaps reconsider it. I now look at yoga as something not to fear but as a challenge. Something I can work on and get better at. I’ll be giving yoga another try and you should too! Who knows? Maybe it’ll be you sitting with a new I <3 Yoga water bottle on your desk inspiring those 4 rows back from you to love it too.