Find Your Inner Peace

When I go to the gym, I like to push my body to the limits. I like to run as fast and as far as I can. I like to lift weights and I love to go to my weekly kickboxing class. I like to sweat, make my heart race and my muscles ache. But this year I wanted to try something new and very different from my usual routine -- yoga.

I heard one of my friends from college rave about her yoga class and my gym offered weekly classes, so I thought I'd give yoga a try. I wasn't really sure what to expect with my first class; it was my very first experience with yoga. And, I found it a little strange.

The class started with everyone standing on their mats, just breathing, in and out, in and out, relaxing music playing in the background. We then proceeded to do a variety of stretches, all with different names that didn't really mean anything to me like like up dog, down dog and tree pose.

It wasn't the bizarre positions or names for the poses that struck me as strange. For me, it was the lack of sweat and racing heart. When I finished, I didn't have that normal feeling of exhaustion like I usually do after a good run or after a hard kickboxing class. Instead, I just felt peace. I mean, what else would you feel after meditating for five minutes in darkness, only aware of your breath, the soothing commands from your instructor and the soft music playing in the background.

Even though I didn't necessarily like my first yoga class, I decided that just trying something once wasn't enough to decide I didn't like it. Also, I kind of liked that feeling of peace at the end of class. After the first class I couldn't tell if it was really a workout or just something relaxing. It only took one more class for me to realize the physical benefits.

Yoga is about developing strength and flexibility. I noticed the strength development at my second class. During some of the poses I had a tough time keeping my balance because my muscles quivered, a good sign to me of an effective workout. We worked hard for most of the class and then spent the last few minutes meditating and relaxing every part of our body. It's just a great feeling of peace and I've found it addicting.

Now, after just a few months of practicing yoga I don't like to miss my weekly class and am thinking about attending more than one class a week. I've also purchased my own yoga mat so I can practice some of the poses at home. I prefer having the instructor for the extra motivation, the variety and the supervision (since I'm still new I don't always know if I'm in the correct position), but I think it will be nice to practice some of the poses on my own.

Trying yoga taught me to love the practice and also that I can't always quickly judge a new activity. Trying something once isn't enough to make a decision. I challenge you to try something new this year and give it a couple of chances before you decide you don't like it. You may find out that you love it.