Yoga kicked my butt!

by Jennifer Turano

It’s been about three years since I’d attended a gym regularly. Being a student means a lot of time sitting at home with your nose in a book, and often very little cash. I simply didn’t have the time or money to go. But three years of constant studying leaves its marks. I have less energy, many of my favorite clothes don’t fit, and lately I’ve been having trouble falling asleep. Part of me wants to blame it on me getting older, but my 60-year-old suegro has more energy AND is in better shape than me… And it was then I realized: I have to go back to the gym.

I thought I’d start off with something light, something that would help me with my stress and calm me. So naturally, I chose Yoga as my first group session– and that’s when I realized yet another reason for why it had taken me so long to go back to the gym:

Feeling completely out of sync with my surroundings – or rather, the people surrounding me.  I am sure that I will come to love Yoga in a few weeks or so – I did feel calmer afterwards and slept like a baby for the first time in months. But the actual session was excruciating.

First of all, not knowing the lingo definitely made things complicated. Warrior pose, Downward-Facing Dog, Palm Tree-pose … I know I’m a newcomer and so can’t be expected to know the poses, but I think I could use a manual before next class.

I usually think of myself as coordinated. But the series of movements was almost impossible for me to follow. My Downward-Facing Dog probably looked more like Drowning-Bear (unless that really is a position, in that case it looked nothing like it) – and whenever we had to turn to face the mirror, I was facing the wall. But I pushed through…

My body is not as agile as I think it is – not even close. And even though I tried my best to push my body into these awkward positions, I couldn’t help but wonder why my pregnant cuñada was doing so much better than me. She looked very Yoga-ish, while I was struggling with keeping my balance.

As a friend told me: Yoga is not for the weak. And I will definitely think twice before choosing something to make me relax, and start Yoga again when I’m a bit stronger.

In other words – Yoga kicked my butt!

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To learn more about Jennifer,
visit Chennifer.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.

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