mandy inchaustegui

I love yoga.

Every Friday morning, you will find me at LA Fitness, checking Elijah into childcare and heading upstairs to the yoga room with my lovely, purple mat in hand. Don’t ask me to skip it. I refuse. I have discovered that life is better for everyone when I go to yoga. Believe me, you want me to go.

I’ve been to a lot of different instructors and I used to think I preferred more of the “power yoga” style. I liked moving a lot and trying to do poses that challenge me. It made me feel more productive and that I had gotten a good workout for that hour.

However, this new class I’ve been attending has been a bit different. First, we come in and relax and breathe for ten full minutes before we officially “begin our practice.” Nothing! For ten whole minutes!

The first time I attended, I almost went bonkers, trying really hard to cooperate but feeling like I was wasting my time. Then, she ended the class by ten more minutes of “deep relaxation pose.” I was so tempted to leave early but I didn’t want to be rude and deep down, I know it’s good for me, so I stayed.

The lessons I learn from slowing down and breathing are a blog for another day. What is most powerful for me is the time in between the relaxing and breathing. Instead of moving through a ton of poses, she has us get into a pose that is stretching a muscle and then staying there. For a very, very, very long time.

Again, my annoyance flared up, feeling like it was a waste of my time. However, the way my body responds to the stretching fascinates me. At first, there is pain because of the tightness of the muscle. Then, the longer I hold the pose, I can feel it start to let up and slowly stretch itself out. The longer I hold the stretch, the deeper into the muscle it goes and the deeper into the stretch I move.

I find a lot of “life metaphors” at the gym and this was no exception. I feel like I’ve been going through a time in my life of deep stretching. I’ve been pretty irritated that it’s been lasting so long but it’s pretty much followed what I found in yoga. First, there was initial pain and tightness. But the longer I’ve been in this place, I can feel my soul begin to relax and move deeper into the stretch, getting to the core of the “muscle,” a place that just doesn’t get used or stretched very often. I’m finding that the longer I hold the stretch and the more I relax into it, the deeper I am able to go. And, ultimately, the pain leaves and a feeling of flexibility and release remains. I know I would never get to that place if I didn’t hold the stretch that long. It’s the only way to get there.

I make sure I stretch after I workout and I know those are good to keep me going and to keep me from getting sore. But, I need the rhythm of my Friday yoga to get to the deep places, which amazingly helps protect me from injury and from minor aches and pains during the week.

I know this time in my life is part of that rhythm. Yoga reminds me to lean into it, enjoy the stretch and remember to breathe.