When I went to my first yoga class, I was skeptical. I had gone to the gym to hit a high intensity kick boxing class, but got there too late. I joined the yoga class just to check it out and it was TOUGH! The class I had was called power yoga. Power yoga is kind of a beefed up Ashtanga yoga. It is pretty vigorous and uses the Ashtanga techniques of flowing from one pose to another with your breath. I was amazed that I not only got a strength training, stretching, and relaxation workout, but also a brand new workout for my inside; because of the breath. Let me explain. In Ashtanga yoga, the type I practice, you link dynamic, challenging, fast-paced poses together with an ujjayi breath. It is a deep inhale through the nose that you slowly release by swirling it in the back of your throat and back through your nose. You actually want to make noise when you exhale, sounding like your slightly congested. This breath produces heat and puts more oxygen in your blood. It relaxes you but at the same time energizes you as you’re challenged to continue this breath through every pose, no matter the difficulty. For me, the breath in yoga is the most important. It is a technique I can use during my yoga practice, sitting in a traffic jam, before I close my eyes at night, and even during labor pains. When you discover the benefits of an ujjayi breath it will change the intensity of your yoga workout, as well as your ability to cope with daily trials and stresses.

P.S. There are so many different types of yoga you can practice, so find the type that is best for you!

When I was studying yoga and all its aspects I remember hearing that the best time of day to practice is 4 AM. Supposedly your body is most in need for oxygen, release of toxins by sweating, stretching muscles and joints and meditation at this time of day. I guess there are some extreme gurus out there that can back up this statement but as for me, I will never know. As I said before, I love yoga, but I am not insane. Sleep is a precious jewel to a mother of young children and there is nothing, save a screaming baby, that can coax me from my bed at that time. Ironically I have found that one of my favorite times to do a short yoga practice is at 4 PM every day. Well, week days.

By four in the afternoon, I have hit empty. I’ve done most of my daily chores, preschool is over, cartoons are done, I haven’t eaten for a couple hours and dinner is still a couple hours away, and I find myself scouring the pantry for chocolate to eat while I sit on the couch and watch pointless TV. So I decided that I would try and give myself another pick me up. I pull out my yoga mat and just start by doing really simple stretches- like forward fold or half lotus. Then I choose an area, like my legs, and do about 10-15 minutes of strength poses. (i.e. three sun salutations, warrior 1 & 2, triangle, squats). I finish up by doing a spinal twist on each side, sit up, and bow my head while saying namaste out loud (mostly because I get a kick out of my 1 year old bowing back to me and mumbling something.) and I’m done.

I always feel more energy when I finish and I feel way better about myself because I didn’t eat a bunch of pre-made cookie dough while watching models and movie stars talk about their lives on TV. So, if you find yourself in a similar situation, I challenge you to give 4 PM a try. I guarantee it will be a lot easier than joining the other crazies at 4 AM.

Remember that timeless 80’s movie “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun?” You know the scene where Sarah Jessica Parker’s character stands in front of the girls of her new private school and shyly introduces herself, then makes the innocent statement “I love to dance”? She just puts it out there, all her peers see in a split second her total devotion to dancing. Well, that’s how I feel about yoga.

Recently I moved to a new neighborhood and in front of a group of my new peers, I introduced myself and made the statement “I love Yoga.” I got an assortment of facial expressions in response, nods (agreement that they’ve done yoga themselves), smiles (good for her), furrowed eyebrows (confusion as to how a woman of my body structure that was just seen eating some of her kids m&m’s could be that devoted to a new-age, crazy mediation exercise), and the rolling of the eyes (great, another neighbor tooting their own, “I’m so cool” horn.) Whatever the response, I let myself out there and I deserved the praise or ridicule that came with it.

So the question is, why? Why am I so willing to put the fact of “I love yoga” so close to the top of my introduction resume? Because it works for me.

It worked for me when I needed a challenge to keep me active in college. It worked when I wanted to shape up for my honeymoon. It worked when I needed a way to calm down during hard labor contractions. It worked when I only had ten minutes to exercise while my newborn slept. And it works while my two boys join me on the mat for a quick energy boost on a lazy day. It just works. No matter what stage of life I’ve been in or will be in, I can use yoga. No matter my fitness level or health status, I can do yoga. It can challenge and calm me in the same moment and it is all my own.

Yoga is great for that reason; there are no rules. There are so many different types and levels and aspects that each of us can take the pieces we like and put them together in our own way-the way it works for us.

So, to my new friends in the cyber world, let me introduce myself.

My name is Carolyn. I’m a wife, a mother, a chocolate chip cookie eater, and I love yoga! I hope that as you read my personal stories about what I’ve discovered in doing yoga, you will find some ways that you can make yoga work for you, and some day able to incorporate yoga into the introductions of your life.