One way that I unwind from the stress of Grad school is to exercise. The following is my experience participating in the world of yoga.
Over the past two years, I have picked up yoga. I’ve never been athletic, and I can’t do a lot of heavy-impact activities. Yoga just stood out to me as something cheap and easy to do. Obviously, yoga is not easy to do, and I learned that after the first try. There are a ton of poses that I still cannot dream of doing, and I’m nowhere close to being able to help other people with their own yoga. As a non-athletic and clumsy person, these are some of the things that I have learned through my journey as the average, sub-par yogi.
Your body is capable of things that you never thought you could do.
Since I could walk, I have been known to have the worst balance. My cousins would ask me to try to skateboard so they could have something to laugh about. My balance is a truly laughable concept. I trip on everything and nothing, always. Sometimes when I’m standing still, I fall over. There are times when I come to the mat that I can’t even get into crescent pose without stumbling. Sometimes my tree pose looks like a slapstick routine. However, you learn to keep trying and to push through. I have learned that some days my balance is awful, like usual, and some days I can get into King Dancer pose like a boss. Never in my life before yoga did I think that I could do anything like King Dancer pose, but now I can. My body is learning to balance, as slow as possible, but it is still learning. My sister has even said she is proud of what I’ve accomplished with my yoga, since she knows better than anyone else how clumsy I can be. So, be patient, be kind to your body, and be happy with it every day. Just remember, some days are better than others, and be happy with the good and the bad.
Yoga is for everyone.
I am not into that third-eye, chakra nonsense. I’m not into the holistic, vegan lifestyle, and I am not a very spiritual person. A lot of people I know are skeptical about yoga because of these concepts, especially my sister. She had a yoga instructor tell her to take cold showers and to search for her inner-eye. She quit because these concepts aggravated her. If you love the spiritual stuff, great for you. If you hate the spiritual stuff, great for you too. Yoga, to me, is not about that. It is about getting to know your body, loving your body, and being healthy. Since I was eleven, I have had arthritis in my left ankle. There is enough metal in it to make me feel like a bionic terminator. I don’t have full range of motion anymore - I think it is at 85% to 90% now. I can’t wear heels, and I can’t walk longer than ten minutes some days. Also, as stated before, I’m not the graceful swan that most yogis are. I stumble, fall, look ridiculous, and I embarrass myself. However, I come to my mat almost five days a week and I try. And you know what? I’m succeeding in my own eyes, and in the eyes of those close to me. If you want to try yoga, try it. Figure out what makes your body feel good, ignore the concepts you don’t like, and embrace the ones you do. You don’t have to believe in all the mumbo-jumbo, and you don’t have to have a certain body or a certain level of physical fitness to do it. Just embrace your body, and try the things you want to try.
You learn things about yourself that you didn’t know before.
I never thought of myself as brave. When it comes down to fight or flight, I am 100% flight. I was always that kid that chickened-out and was scared to get into trouble. Because of my bad ankle, I wouldn’t do the hilarious, dumb physical blunders that most kids do. My cousins would jump out of trees, do flips on the trampolines and diving boards, skateboard, snowboard, everything that could be potentially dangerous. Since my accident, I couldn’t keep up. Even riding a bike scared me so bad because I could get hurt. There was just something about not having my feet on the ground that always terrified me. Now after two years of yoga, I can do a headstand...not a great one and for not very long, but I got my feet off the ground. I did something that I thought I could never do. To me, I have been brave! My confidence has been boosted. If I can overcome this small fear, I can overcome other things like interviews, graduate school, moving across the country, whatever comes my way.
The small things really matter.
Obviously, learning to do a headstand is minuscule compared to other achievements like graduating from college, having a baby, running a marathon, getting the dream job, going to the moon, whatever it is in your life that you’re incredibly proud of and is unique to you. Now, I have recently graduated from college with my undergraduate degree and started graduate school. Besides the massive amount of fear from the change, there was also pride. I was proud the day I walked across that stage and got my degree. I was proud knowing that I got into graduate school. Love ones celebrated for me and with me; they were proud for me. But the day that I finally got my feet off the ground and over my head was all for me. I was proud of myself on this strangely deep level. It was a regular day, nothing special to anyone in my life but myself. I had overcome a small fear that had plagued me since childhood. I didn’t celebrate with anyone but myself, and that felt great. It was a small accomplishment that wouldn’t be as important to anyone else but myself, and you know what? Sometimes it feels really great to celebrate with yourself. It was a small thing that just made my day and it reminded me that sometimes those small things that make our days are vastly important. So with whatever small thing you’ve accomplished that you never thought would happen, good for you. Sit down, call your best friend, have a glass of cheap wine, watch your favorite show, and celebrate with yourself, for yourself. Don’t think its dumb to be proud of the small things, no matter how small. 
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