Dear Yoga,
At the end of December 2020, I decided to partake in you, as a bridge into a new fitness program in the new year. Little did I know that it would be the start of a potentially lifelong relationship.
Allow me to provide some context. I’ve been exercising for decades. You had, until the aforementioned point of time, been my least favorite days of the exercise programs I followed. If I didn’t follow a structured program, I was better off without you - I didn’t even think about your existence. There were a few reasons:
I’m not that flexible
I was afraid of breaking something
I simply didn’t think I’d be good
I went as far as to proudly proclaim that I hated you.
Well, during that last week of 2020, I came across a video from Yoga With Adriene on YouTube. She was talking about her free 30-day yoga journey starting in January 2021, and it piqued my interest. I signed up to receive her emails and was magically looking forward to something different to do for 30 days.
What I didn’t know was that it would change the trajectory of how I think about you. You and I would develop a full on romance. I would discover that there’s so much more to you than just a good stretch for sore muscles. I started taking an avid interest in what happens when one is part of a diligent practice; started learning why you are the embodiment of “union.” Heck, I don’t think I even truly understood what the word embodiment even meant in practicality until you became a daily sadhana (practice). I still don't fully understand that word, but that's part of the challenge of embodiment.
The 30 day journey became a 365+ journey. You provided awareness of the self, supported my life and movements off the mat, and best of all, gave me the gift of being in a way I had not learned to be.
Some would say I’m being dramatic. I might not like that label since I hate drama, but it would only last about a minute. Because, now I know that to hate anything or anyone is no longer in my capabilities. (More drama, you’re welcome.)
With that, dear yoga, I invite you to continue coming into the lives of others like you came into mine. I hope they don’t misunderstand you, like I did for so much of my adult life. I hope they find in you a life-long friend and confidante; somewhere they can also turn to in times of physical or mental stress; somewhere they look forward to being.
Yours faithfully,
FitMasala