Yoga

“I mean, I figured it would be kind of hard, but it was really hard. The instructions came faster than I could keep up sometimes. [...] Twenty minutes in and my arms, abs and thighs were all sore. But my neck was the sorest of all. I realized as I was laying back in a stretch that the reason my neck was sore was because I was looking around the room to make sure I was doing all the moves right. My neck finally gave out and fell into the position. Suddenly, for the first time in the session, a feeling of relief and calmness washed over me. I decided to lean into that. Move after move, I began putting less focus on doing the move perfectly and more focus on doing the move comfortably.”

“Recently, I found myself on the floor of a well-appointed outdoor yoga studio in a trendy neighborhood of Los Angeles, panting as I contorted myself into what seemed like the hundredth in a series of chaturangas that wouldn’t end. Everything ached, my face was bright red, and sweat dripped off my forehead onto the spare mat I’d borrowed from my friend. Instead of losing myself in the act of physical movement, I was sharply aware of the seconds ticking by, wondering how many minutes it would take before the class—and my distinct sensation of failure—would be over.”

“The class really was more than I expected. It was challenging, yet somehow relaxing. It required strength and balance, but stretched my entire body. And believe you me, this runner’s body was in need of some serious stretching! The only drawback is that I somehow tweaked my back so I had to skip this AM’s run.”