Yoga Is My Happy Place

About 10 years ago, I started practicing yoga semi-regularly when a family friend, who was an instructor, held classes in my mother-in-law's home for a small group of gals. It was a gentle and restorative practice, and I found that I just loved how relaxed it made me feel. 

When we moved to Greensboro 3 years ago, I continued practicing at home but really wanted to be around other humans. I tried another hot yoga studio in town and just didn't feel a connection to it. The idea of the heated room made sense to me though, so I decided to try it again at at Revolution Hot Yoga (RHY). Walking in, I remember feeling nervous, down on myself, and just not sure what was going to happen.  BUT despite all that, I promised myself on that first day that I'd go to at least two classes because I knew the first class would probably be pretty rough.  I was right, but there was also something deeply familiar about the sequence which felt really natural to me.  

The only time in my day (or life, it seems) when my mind is truly quiet is in a yoga class, and it's 75 or 90 minutes of just breathing, not thinking. Having struggled with anxiety and depression for most of my adult life, I find that in a hot yoga class all of the self-judgement, analyzing, sadness, and stress seem to melt away. Sometimes, I even visualize that I've left it all in that puddle of sweat on my mat!  When I know I'm going to yoga after work, I tend to drink more water and eat healthier. The day AFTER yoga, I'm so much more relaxed at work and life just feels more manageable.

Most of the time, I feel like I rush through life without actually showing up in it. But when you're so focused on just breathing (as you have to be when it's SO ho in class!!), I feel like I'm very present in each moment. Outside of yoga,I struggle with that, but on my mat, it comes so naturally. No matter how bad my day was, when I go to yoga, it's like some cosmic magic happens while I'm in that room and when I leave, it feels like everything is right where it belongs: my back, my brain, my soul, and the world.

 After a long day at work, I usually have this mental argument with myself whether to go to yoga or directly to the glass of wine waiting for me at home.  I ALWAYS feel better when I make the decision to show up on my mat.  The reward of a yoga class is far better than the wine.

I used to think that being a yogi meant having a perfect body and being able to do the full expression of every asana. Now, my practice is much more about finding those moments of mental clarity and peace. The physical benefits are icing on the cake for me. My skin is softer and glowier, My body feels bendy, stretchy, healthier, and stronger. 

RHY is my sanctuary. It's a place where I feel I can just BE, without having to BE anything or anybody in particular. There's a quiet energy there that is just so welcoming and accepting. RHY has truly become my "happy place."

This is Stacy Ruter's yoga story.

Go to RHY website.