Om

A few months ago, I bought a package of yoga classes from Ashtanga Yoga Studio. It was about to expire, which spurred me to use it (as is true with most of my group buying experiences).

I've gone to two Level One classes. The first time I was kind of like... are we sure this is an intro class? Everyone else seemed like a pro! But the teacher, Andrew (and owner of the studio) is great. There's no feeling that you should be able to do anything crazy, he just wants you to focus on breathing and doing what is comfortable.

This is Andrew:

This is how I look:

Anyhoo, so far it's been great. But I'm blogging about it because Andrew said 2 things that have made me think.

He talked about how everyone knows that physical exercise makes you feel better mentally, but yoga is the only exercise developed to take care of the mind, rather than train you to be an athlete or whatever. Hmm, good observation.

Also, he leads us in meditation for the last 15 minutes of class, and he said that mental peace is integral to any other kind of physical peace. He said, "You know that some people are trapped inside a hell of their mind?" Yes, I do know people like that. It's sad and pathetic. And I'm thankful I am not one of those.

Will I keep going to Ashtanga? Yes, I think so. The people are genuinely welcoming and kind, and I am enjoying yoga. Will I become a full fledged yogi? Doubt it. But stranger things have happened. :)