Bringing Yoga to Life
The Everyday Practice of Enlightened Living
Chapter OneWe Begin Here
Monday night is the evening for beginners at the studio, and although it is only five-thirty the winter sky has begun to darken as students arrive, some tentatively, others in boisterous pairs who have egged each other on to come, and the silent furtive ones, not yet sure whether
there is a special way to act when entering a Yoga school. Robin arrives a little late and searches nervously for the farthest corner, to hide behind the other attendees. "Why have you come?" I ask, and as we introduce ourselves Robin declares, with an edge of cynicism that I have grown to recognize as the thickening of skin over something far more tender, that she wants to lose a little weight, maybe learn to relax. "Seemed like a better option than ballroom dancing," she says smugly, raising a few eyebrows.
As the weeks go by, Robin begins to move forward in the room and to ask questions about the stiffness she feels in her back. "I don't know," she says offhandedly, "maybe it has something to do with my job. Some days I can hardly catch my breath." At the end of the first course Robin signs up for another, and months turn into years. A life
is unveiled ... read full excerpt from Bringing Yoga to Life ebook
