Yoga for Everybody: A Yogi's Journey

When I first came to yoga, it was to help my back pain, improve my posture, and improve my flexibility. I have scoliosis. When I was a child, adults were always trying to ‘fix’ my posture. They’re repositioning of my body was uncomfortable and not something I could maintain. I took a yoga class in college to help with stress when dealing with assignments and exams. I found some relief and continued with yoga classes on an intermittent basis throughout my twenties.

I was finally able to commit to a more consistent yoga practice when I was in my early thirties. Becoming a divorced, single mom of a toddler brought on a whole different kind of stress. It also made me want to be my best self, so that I could always be the mother I needed to be for my daughter. After attending yoga classes for several months and doing yoga therapy to deal with my divorce and work stress, I was ready to take a kids yoga teacher training course and teach yoga to my daughter and her friends.

A year later, I signed up for my 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training. On the first day of class, the instructor brought me up to the front of the class to use me to teach Mountain pose. She got me to “lift my pelvic floor, pull my belly button in towards the spine, and roll my shoulders back.” (Cues I still use in class.) Then she said, “There, a new woman.” Finally, somebody did ‘fix’ my posture, but this time I was able to maintain it, and it was not uncomfortable. I felt strong and confident, and didn't feel like my body was working against me any longer.

Now in my fifties, I continue with my yoga practice because it quiets my racing thoughts, allows me to deal with my life with a little more grace and patience (toward myself and others), and makes me more comfortable in my body.

You don’t have to be flexible to do yoga. You don’t have to be strong. You don’t have to have a certain kind of body or feel at your optimum health. You don't have to put yoga off to when you feel better, when you lose weight, or when you are less stressed. You just have to start. Yoga is a practice. Yoga meets you where you are at.