Grow Mobile Yoga Journal: Volume I- Katie Lager

Before I began practicing yoga, I had the image in my mind of what people who practiced yoga looked and acted like.

In my imagination, I thought they were all vegan spiritual gurus who could basically walk on water they were so pure and serene. Since I would classify myself as a little bit of a psycho-control freak, I automatically assumed that yoga was not for me. Many years and many sweaty yoga classes later, I am happy to report that most yoga practitioners are all a little crazy. Hear me out on this, what I’ve come to understand is that a consistent yoga practice leads to peace of mind, not the other way around. I learned that we come to yoga to use the body as a tool to train the mind.

It all started three years ago when I was invited (okay maybe dragged) to my first hot yoga class by an enthusiastic friend.

At the time, I had been “up in the gym, just workin’ on my fitness,” as Fergie says, but had not ventured into a yoga class due to my preconceived notions I had. So here I am, in hot yoga, which is literally so hot. They heat the room to some ridiculous temperature and then you move around in different shapes and sweat and cry, but at the end, you get to lay down on your mat and close your eyes. In those moments after an hour of grueling work, a sense of calm washed over me in my first class and I realized that feeling, that blip of serenity, that glimpse of surrender is why people practice yoga. Now I am forever chasing that feeling, and that’s why I continue to practice yoga regularly.