A Love Letter to Yoga

If I told you that starting yoga led me to discover life’s greatest secrets, you probably would not believe me, but let me tell you how this happened. I never thought that my love for dripping hot, sweaty, pruney fingers would leave me to love yoga.

First Series

At twenty-one years old, during my study abroad year in Australia, my roommate invited me to a hot yoga class. I was always fairly active and enjoyed team sports. I started dancing as a kid, but I had never tried yoga.

After a few classes, I thought I was starting to understand this kind of ‘exercise’, but my inconsistent practice was interrupted by two across-the globe moves. I relocated to Seoul  during the cold winter in early March. 

After a long day of teaching English to three-year-olds, the first class I attended was a hot yoga class. The room is set to a sweltering 38 degrees celsius. Escaping the bitterly cold spring chill and stepping into the yoga studio was a startling shock to my system, and nothing could prepare me for this contrast of temperatures. By the time the hour-long class was over, two soaking wet towels had laid beside me next to the small mote of water around my perimeter. This heat left me feeling pruney, guaranteed shriveled up fingers at the end of a session, dripping sweat - this was getting addicting.

The heat of the room kind of made me feel like I had an out-of-body experience. Before experiencing hot yoga, I couldn’t even imagine standing in this heat on a steamy summer day, let alone moving around and ‘exercising’ in this 40-degree heat. I eased into consistent practice and started attending 1-hour sessions. I was quickly hooked after the long grueling days of teaching the ABCs and 123s. The sessions typically ended with a message of encouragement and enlightenment from the instructor. Encouraging words like ‘Find peace in yourself and find peace in your day.’

Weekday evenings were spent turning into a hot, shriveled, sweaty mess, and I was soooo into it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the relief of the heat to escape the day's relief. No matter how obnoxiously rude my Korean boss was or the tantrums of the small students from school, yoga helped me feel like nothing else in the world mattered except being present on that mat, sweating profusely. I started to find better ways to self-regulate my emotions and have more gratitude for life around me.  Leaving with gratitude and inspiration to carry me onwards.

Second Series

Two years later, I moved to Taiwan. Without fully committing to yoga at first, I attempted team sports again and joined an ultimate frisbee team. But then, I quit. I felt like I was bringing the team down with my lack of commitment to frequent 7 am Saturday and Sunday out-of-town tournaments. I knew this was a sign to start seeking yoga again. 

Chloe was the first teacher who taught me about yoga and movement. Her depth of knowledge about the human body and anatomy was fascinating. After long days of teaching, I would escape to Chloe’s home studio and begin to build up a consistent practice in 2015.

Finding Chloe was quite a stroke of luck. Living in Taiwan and not speaking Mandarin fluently, the options were very limited. She was globally trained in vinyasa and acro yoga, which led to occasional ‘acro jams’ in the park, freestyle acrobatic style yoga with partners. I was still exploring which style of yoga I preferred, but I enjoyed the variety of her classes. 

Schedules and jobs changed. I was now attending a new yoga studio closer to my house, experimenting with various classes of ashtanga, vinyasa, and newer hot yoga classes. This is where I met Sandy and Steffi, the next two yoga teachers who made a significant difference in my practice.

This continued to be my relief from the day job as an English teacher and the escape from the day's grind. I continued to feel like this practice was otherworldly to my body. It was the escape I needed after long days of singing and dancing for children. I frequently attended with a colleague, and we would leave the class together saying, ‘this was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,’ but then we continued to practice.

The practice continued to become more and more consistent, and I saw the benefits coming in from all aspects of my life. I was able to see myself in a different light and understand my body and my limitations. Whenever a day was turned upside down by long hot hours of dealing with children, a yoga class was always able to turn my world right-side up again.

Six sessions of yoga a week became routine. It continues to be the stability in my life. The balancing postures in yoga help me find balance in my life. 

Diving deeper, I was exploring the works of the long-time yogi, Kino MacGregor, who shares in the introduction of her book ‘The Power of Ashtanga Yoga’ ‘The real magic of yoga lies not in any specific movements but in its universal ability to transform the lives of its practitioners - including you. So I welcome you today and congratulate you for your good fortune (or perhaps, good karma) in discovering and embracing this transformative knowledge.’ 

For me, yoga became the therapy, the release through the heat, and the practice of movement that helped me find stability. I have been experiencing the transformation on and off the mat since the first class in Australia.

Practice and Progress

I have learned two very important lessons from yoga that I carry onward in my life. The first one is that yoga is a practice. The teachers will continue to share tips and insights into yoga while giving instructions to move your body in this way. They will often remind the students that this is their practice on their mat, no one else's. There is no need to look around and compare yourself. Focus on your practice, and you will improve.

The second is that your progress is based on your practice. I often hear people say, ‘oh yoga, I tried that once, but I can’t even touch my toes, so no thanks.’ or ‘look, see, I can touch my toes. I’ll come with you for a session.’ Everyone experiences yoga differently.

These years of yoga have taught me more about myself, my life, and how I view myself in the world. But thankfully, no one told me that from the beginning, or I would’ve thought I was joining some strange hippie group. 

I am grateful that I can bring this practice with me wherever I go, and there will always be a space to practice or a studio to pop into. I am grateful for the friends I have met through yoga and the teachers who were way more than teachers, like therapists and coaches, pushing me beyond my beliefs. Now I know that if the practice is consistent, I will see progress in yoga and life.

Namaste.