Beginning Again

I first stumbled onto yoga more than 15 years ago when I saw a tiny ad in the newspaper for a beginning yoga class. I'm not exactly sure why, but for some reason the announcement clicked with me, and I thought “I want to do that.” After some fact finding, I signed up.

All it took was one class - and a really good teacher (Terry Brown), - and I was hooked. The studio was a good place to learn about yoga because, while their primary style was Iyengar yoga, they offered classes featuring many different practice styles.  I favored Ashtanga because I liked the challenge and flow of the series and the natural heat my body produced.

My first experience with hot yoga was quite by accident. I'd travelled with my husband on a business trip and when exploring local yoga studios, I stumbled across Baron Baptiste’s studio in Boston which was where he was practicing at the time.  As luck would have it, I could attend a class that he was teaching. 

I had no idea the room would be heated above the body heat produced by the sheer volume of the many bodies there for his class. My husband, who went with me, only made it through 15 minutes of the class and was done. Even though I was drenched in sweat,  I not only completed the class, but loved it! That was my only experience with hot yoga until many years later.  Over time, I found other forms of exercise.

I have a stone paperweight on my desk with the words “Begin Again” engraved on it. That phrase perfectly describes my yoga practice, as well as so much of life. My yoga journey has been a series of starts and stops. My practice became very consistent for several years, but then life interfered like life has a way of doing which was ironic because that's the very time I needed yoga the most.

 A couple of years ago, a running friend invited me to a hot yoga class at the Bikram studio. I met Rebecca (Jordan-Turner) and Prana, the studio cat, who I figured wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t a good place. (Animals are smart like that!)  I survived that first 90 minute class went back again….and again….and again usually mading it to a hot yoga class at least weekly. I had “begun again!”

I noticed the Revolution Hot Yoga (RHY) sign during a Saturday morning run with three of my running buddies, and we decided to try their Sunday AM class the next day.   When I walked in the door, there was Rebecca!

Over the years, I've practiced at several different studios with many teachers. I believe that what's most important isn't the studio amenities, but the spirit and heart of the studio. The meaning of yoga is to unite or connect with ourselves, each other, and the world around us. RHY provides such an environment, and the feeling doesn't emanate from the physical structure, the heat, or the particular elements of a class. The spirit comes from the teachers and my fellow yogis there.

As I see it, the ultimate goal of yoga is not to increase flexibility and strength of the body. These are simply the results and benefits of a regular yoga practice, just like many other forms of exercise give you tangible, physical results. What I've come to understand is that the true goal of a regular yoga practice is self-realization and staying balanced and healthy. Yoga increases my mental and emotional flexibility and strength so that I can be a more fully present, genuine, and compassionate person.

With yoga as with life, the beauty of the practice is not about the results, but about the journey.  I'm honored to travel that journey with my fellow practitioners at RHY!

This is Susan Brady's yoga story.

Go to RHY website.