I’ve made no secret of the fact that I dislike yoga. Perhaps, though, “dislike” is the wrong word. I would hate to be thought one of those ridiculous examples of toxic masculinity that pretends that yoga is somehow emasculates a person. I would never claim that yoga is easy, or ineffective. Because it’s yoga’s very effectiveness that is one of the reasons that I dislike it.
Yoga works. Having been in a regular practice (pretty much daily) for several months now, I have seen definite benefits.
And I resent that, because I find yoga boring. I’m not sure why. I enjoy related exercise programs like Pilates or t’ai chi, and I’m no stranger to the idea of centering and focusing on breath and one’s body.
And every time I mention this to someone who is a yogi, I get the same litany of Have you tried… and they mention some ancient or new-fangled version of yoga practice. The answer, usually, is “yes.” I’ve tried kundalini, ashtanga, hatha, and yin (I find the latter to be the least boring, precisely because it doesn’t try to be anything but what it is). I refuse to try Bikram because I know too much about the culture, and I don’t want to do hot yoga because I already sweat enough.
You Can’t Keep an Old Dog Downward
But I still get up in the morning, I still unroll the mat, and I grumble while I look through the video offerings of Yoga With Adriene, Yoga With Kassandra, or (if I’m feeling especially masochistic) Boho Beautiful. I also occasionally dip into 5 Parks Yoga and Fightmaster Yoga (the latter just because the name appeals to an aging jarhead).
Why do I still bother? Simply put, because (grumble) it works. I recently was pointed at a list of “18 Amazing Benefits of Yoga, According to Science” (which of course appeals to my curmudgeonly skeptical ways) and scanning through it, I thought it might be worth it to describe the top three that apply to my own yoga experience.
In no particular order:
- Regular Yoga Practice Relieves Stress and Anxiety “The controlled breathing that is inherent in practicing yoga is probably the biggest factor in reducing stress. When focused on breathing, participants have little room to engage in irrational fear, worry, or other obsessive thoughts, many of which are contributing…
