Read a little bit about my journey with yoga - filled with love, hate, tears and laughter.
When I was a sophomore in college, my friend Nahal invited me to go to my first yoga class. Willing to try just about everything, I jumped at the idea of doing the next trendy thing. Yoga was just getting big in Ann Arbor, and I wanted to get on that train first. Even better - my first class was free (pro tip: most yoga studios in Ann Arbor will let you take one free class or they have stellar discounts for first-time students).
I borrowed my roommates mat, put on my leggings & tee, and excitedly went to class. One hour later and I only had one thought, “I hate yoga.” Really, I hated it. I thought it was either way too easy or way too hard, and you’d have to be crazy to want to sit in a 100 degree room with the sweat of the person next to you dripping onto your mat. I didn’t understand any of the language used, and the only tangible thing I walked out of there with was that I was extremely inflexible - really, my heels were so off the floor in downward dog that the instructor didn’t even try to push them down.
Nevertheless, I kept going back. I decided to get a Groupon - 5 classes for $20. I wasn’t going to walk out of yoga without giving it another chance. Five classes later and I learned a lot of the vocab (warrior two, dragonfly, pyramid pose- you name it, I could do it). I shortly realized that I didn’t wanna stop there. $90 for a month unlimited is all that I could see standing between me and my new physical feat. I budgeted that it would be about one day of babysitting per month and that I could swing it. Welcome to your new hobby, Case.
I started going to yoga at least five times a week. I had this instructor named Kara, and she told me in class that “One day you’ll stop coming for the physical and start coming for the mental.” I really didn't feel that though, if I’m being honest. Let me put it this way - I loved yoga because it challenged my body in a different way. As a runner and weight-lifter, yoga gave me a chance to work smaller muscles, improve my flexible, and increase circulation. After yoga, I felt less bloated and my muscles seemed tighter. I was able to touch my toes, and my downward dog was getting better (still working on that one though- hamstrings are not flexible post ACL surgery).
But, I was still coming for the physical, and I kept coming for the physical. Yoga was benefiting me so much physically that I felt like it would be a disservice to my body if I gave it up. It wasn’t until the day that I cried in shavasana that I realized I came to yoga for the mental.
Cried? In yoga class? Yes, I did such a thing. Let me back up though and explain why. Shavasana is my favorite part of yoga - it’s where you just get to lie on your back for an extended period of time thinking about absolutely nothing. On this particular day, I was incredibly stressed. I had just gone through a bit of a rough health bout, my grades were slipping, and relationships were crumbling at my feet. I was in a space of “I have absolutely no idea what I should do,” and, when I’m in those places, I find solace in moving my body. I went to yoga and completely forgot about everything for one hour. My body moved with the instructor, and at the end of class during shavasana, I felt her hand on my shoulder. It sounds incredibly cheesy, but it reminded me that I wasn’t alone- that I was there for my body and someone was there to guide me.
Let me just say- tears ensued. And, I’m not talking about one or two teardrops falling down my face, I’m talking about a sob - a sob that an entire yoga class could hear even when the teacher played music to dismiss the class. It was everything I needed to know that the physical benefits of exercise are important, but the mental is what makes it so special - it just took me a little time to realize that.
And, I think that goes for every aspect of health, whether it be yoga or diet or meditation. The physical is what we see and hear, but we need to give our bodies a chance to feel too. So, I challenge you to give yoga a try (you can even find free sessions on Youtube) - maybe you’ll find the mental a bit sooner than I did.