“It all started with injuries in a Bikram’s or hot yoga class a number of years ago. At first, my Type A personality and me were having a blast — barely able to breathe in the 100+ degree studio, sweating buckets into a stinky carpet, pushing my face to my shins against my body’s will. One day in class I seriously injured my sciatic nerve. Sitting was torturous and my beloved hiking made my legs numb.
After rounds of doctor visits, acupuncturists, and physical therapy, I decided to try another yoga style. This time, I wandered into an Anusara Yoga class and found relief. After 6 years of kind, non-competitive yoga, and an observant comment from Brant, my sciatica only visits occasionally.
Since starting yoga I’ve gone from Zsa Zsa Gabor city frenzy to Eddie Albert’s Green Acres; from high stress career to becoming a mom, finding the person I’m going to grow old with, and working with a view of rolling hills and our 2 llamas. Did yoga help me get in the right frame of mind to make better decisions for myself – absolutely!
If you’re reading this thinking you’re too hyper, driven or aerobically addicted to do yoga, you need it more than the dyed cotton-wearing, Birkenstock chanters you’re picturing. I know how you feel. That was my life. Now when I say, “I am too stressed for yoga today. I’ve got too much work to do. I can’t relax.”, that is the time I must go to class. Trust me, you need it too. You simply can’t do a Triangle Pose, laugh with your classmates, and sing a nice, long, robust “ommmmm” while worrying about quotas and closing sales. Thank heavens for that!!! —– Cindy. Archive Newsletter, 2006