My love affair with yoga started about 13 years ago. At the time I was fiercely committed to cardio workouts and weight lifting—I loved spinning classes, boxing classes (in an actual ring), indoor rock climbing, and boot camp. My mother, who thought I needed to slow down a bit, wanted me to try yoga, which she’d been practicing since the 1970s. Since “mom always knows best,” I decided to give it a try, gradually weaning myself off of my gym classes and weight lifting until yoga became my exclusive exercise routine. I’ve never looked back.
“Yoga is a union within ourselves and then with ourselves [and] the world around us. It is the joining of the breath, body, and mind,” says Ashley Dorr, who teaches at the Shala, a Manhattan yoga studio that I frequent. Personally, I started yoga to try a different type of exercise. I wasn’t really thinking about the mind, breath, and body connection. But as the years have passed, I have found this connection fascinating. During my practice, I think less about my busy schedule and more about what my body is capable of doing.
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