Yoga. Mmm.

I’ve been practicing yoga, in some ways, since I was tiny. Dance classes — ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary — were the focus of my life after dinnertime for over thirteen years.

There’s a place you go to in dance, much like there is in yoga. Donning leggings and ballet slippers is a cognitive cue that you’re entering a place that requires a strong core and squared shoulders, the way entering that certain Panera Bread in Atlanta is a cognitive cue that I’m about to do some serious uninterrupted studying for a few hours. Lately, slipping on these Lululemon crops have whispered to my mind that it’s time to calm down for a bit, to take a backseat and to let intuition guide my body into the places it wants to go. After several sun salutations, triangle inversions, and scorpion poses, I’m feeling limber and fortified. Accomplishment.

For me, some poses come easily. Warrior pose, for instance, is a huge favorite. The muscles in my thighs (hello, legs that will never be truly skinny thanks to so much of the aforementioned dance!) know exactly what to do in that type of extension, and my torso and arms extend into the old familiar strength of a demi-plié. But other poses, like the Warrior III (an advanced Vinyasa style), are difficult to move into — my right hip is used to moving into an action packed sequence, not a long stretch, and I often have to stop, center, and rebalance.

At that point, it becomes a mental challenge, and that’s half the benefit. While I was in D.C., I took a few particularly memorable Bikram (hot yoga) classes in the midst of one of the most intense heat waves on record, where temperatures soared to 116° one day. By the time I left, the hardwood floor was soaked with the sweat of two dozen yogis, and I felt pretty lightheaded. (Okay, so maybe Bikram in the middle of a heatwave is NOT the smartest thing, and I wouldn’t recommend it to most.)

But damn, pushing myself to stop being aware of the heat and concentrating on the sequence felt amazing. So did that first blast of air when I finally left the studio. Awareness.

There are a lot of yoga enthusiasts out there who come off as haughty in their practice, and that’s understandably a turn-off for many. On the other hand, I’ve tried very hard not to be an evangelist of yoga, as much as I believe in its ability to bring serious clarity to those who actively participate…

…but there’s something about going into your zone for that hour, just like it is for dancers, gymnasts, professional golfers, quarterbacks, welders, mechanics…really, any type of work that requires intense focus and a quieting of the mind in order to reach such flow. It’s full immersion, an intrinsic state where you find your mental footing.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a Hungarian psychologist, theorized that as one becomes entrenched in the segments of a task, we enter several “fragments” before reaching what Buddhists might call enlightenment, or for the rest of us, a state of epiphany, a “eureka!” moment, or a “runner’s high”. Often, apathy turns into worry, and worry becomes anxiety when the mind is allowed to wander freely without control. This is the place in which most of us live, day-to-day. With yoga, that first stretch on the mat becomes a state of arousal, turning into a state of flow with each swan dive that becomes a downward dog. As the poses become easier with repetition, immersion takes over, and the mind’s motherboard takes a backseat to allow the body to direct the course of motion. Control turns to relaxation, and as we enter savasana (considered to be the most difficult pose by some, the ability to lie still and relax every muscle from eyebrows to toes), relaxation turns to clarity, and clarity turns into invigoration. (Finding Flow, 1997) Coming out of savasana is something that can hardly be explained, but I often compare to rising from a restful night’s sleep.

I just came out of my savasana a few moments ago, and was inspired to write this post with a clear mind. Since I’m home for winter break right now, I’ve been taking several classes in Vinyasa, Ashtanga, and Kripalu yoga at my local studio a few times a week. I’m so excited to get back to Emory and begin classes there — I have a feeling it’s going to do wonders to find my flow in the midst of academics again :)