Let’s get downward, dog: Enlightenment at Hart House Yoga

*Credits to that one random poster at UTSC for the title. I wish I were that creative with my puns. If the title wasn’t a dead giveaway, this week I had my first yoga class at Hart House and it was AMAZING! I’ve done yoga for a few years now, but it’s usually in beginner classes, and not regularly. I knew I wanted to try to be more physically active this year, but I needed something more than just running on the treadmill. How did I end up with yoga? Let me just start with one simple aspect of my personality: I like to take on a lot. It sounds like the cliché answer you might give when you get asked, “what’s your biggest weakness,” at a job interview, but for me, it’s the truth. I like to keep busy, because otherwise I just kind of …don’t do anything.

It’s system that works pretty well for me, with time management and all that jazz. “But Api, I don’t see the problem,” you might ask. Well my friends, after a very packed first month back, I realize that yes, I am able to handle a lot but that doesn’t eliminate the stress that comes along with it. Since I seem to work best when I’m busy, I knew the solution to being stressed out wasn’t cutting things out, it was adding something I liked doing. So, I decided to replace one of my weekly workout hours (which I, coincidentally, haven't actually started yet) with an hour of yoga at Hart House! I was really intimidated when I first stepped into the class, because I had only done introductory yoga and I was pretty out of practice. I wasn’t even sure if I could still touch my toes.  

But our first class consisted of covering some of the basic moves and learning how to do them properly, so that we don’t strain ourselves and we got the most benefit from them. The class went pretty well, and I’m glad I have something separate from school, extracurricular activities and work, that I can use as Api time! There are lots of yoga options on campus, if you can’t commit to a weekly class, Hart House and the Athletic Centre has drop-in classes. The Multi-Faith Centre also has options for meditation and yoga!  So you have plenty of options to get your tree pose on!

Hopefully by the end of the semester, I'll be able to do that pose without losing my balance and falling over. Baby steps.