Yoga has grown in popularity over the years, and is now widely known throughout America. Because of this, I felt compelled to include myself in this stress reducing exercise. The many intriguing poses added an extra bonus, and drove me to take a trip down to my town rec center, and join a weekly yoga class. I felt prepared to plunge into the journey of zen, and find my inner peace. Simple, right?
After a few classes, I felt calmer, even though I went to sleep sore every night. I rarely stressed over bills and family problems, and felt better almost all the time. The exhausting exercise was much more difficult than expected, and I had trouble maneuvering myself into the many poses, as I was not as elastic as the other pupils in my class. Some were hard, where others were just downright painful or impossible. Thoughts of giving up ran through my mind, although none sat and boiled up to a conclusion.
Then I had really convinced myself yoga was my calling, and was determined to stick with it. I had gone to class every week, and even had a yoga mat and ball at home to practice on, along with my many pairs of pants designed especially for yoga. I had learned many new poses, each one increasing in difficulty, and had done them daily. I felt in perfect harmony with the world; with the exclusion of my aching back and burning legs.
It was then the thoughts of leaving it to the pros came back to me. Still, there was nothing to push me over my breaking point. I had no real reason to drop the class, and had even managed to make some friends. Then came the dreadful moment I had feared.
I had achieved something important. Unfortunately, it was not a positive achievement. I had gotten my first injury. Yes, a injury! I thought, I wasn’t playing football! How could this happen? I sprained my ankle. What would I tell my friends? I just couldn’t do this anymore. That’s when I realized that I was done. This was it. If I could injure myself so severely in my beginner stage, imagine what I could do when I had myself twisted into a full blown pretzel.
I had come into my ex-class on crutches, and informed my friends of what had happened. I explained exactly how I had slipped while doing a stretch, and my ankle was shot. They felt the need to describe exactly what I had done wrong, and proceeded to ask me when it was healed so I could come back, which to I replied “Never!”
This was how I came to the abrupt stop of practicing yoga. A single injury along with doubts of benefits lead me to a conclusion that yoga was not for me. Hopefully, I’ve informed you well enough on how I had given up on yoga because of exhaustion and injury. not exactly what everyone thinks of when they hear yoga. but I’m done with this, and now it’s on to the next one!