Namaste: 10 Reasons I Love Yoga

Last Thursday a friend of mine invited me to join her for a beginning yoga class.  It was a first for both of us.  Is it too soon to say I'm head over heels in love with yoga?  I went back tonight, and I'm already looking forward to next week.  I mean, really, is there anything better designed for a young, frazzled mother?  Let's consider:

1. I get to be away from my dirty house, needy kids, and annoying dogs for an hour and a half.
2. My biggest focus for that period of time is my breathing.  When was the last time I stopped to breath even for a few minutes?
3. I get to be in a warm, dimly lit, beautiful room that I'm not responsible for cleaning.
4. My husband thinks yoga is going to make me all sorts of fit, strong, and flexible, so he's supportive.  I'm just letting him think that, even though my beginning yoga class really is about 80% breathing.
5. I get to relax and stretch.
6. I don't have to rush.  In fact doing things slowly is sort of the point.  Again, this is the opposite of everything else in my day.
7. No one there needs me.  No one there even knows who I am.  I dig.
8. I'm feeling some tiny semblance of being an individual (that thing I was before I was a wife and a mom), and that's probably a good thing.
9. When I tell someone I'm doing yoga they often react in a way that makes me think they're impressed.  Seriously!  People will be impressed that you spend time alone breathing, relaxing, and stretching, so there's no guilt!  I love not feeling guilty.
10. Finally, there are probably some really great health benefits, but really, that's just a bonus at this point.

So I implore you, if you are feeling stress, on edge, grumpy, pulled in a million directions, check out a yoga class.  Beginning classes are easy.  Breath in, breath out, repeat.

P.S. My husband actually said he'd watch the girls so I could do yoga two nights a week.  Just to illustrate how much I love yoga, I'm as equally tempted to take a second class as I am to pretend I'm taking a second class and take my book to the coffee shop.  It really is a toss-up. 

P.P.S. Shhhhh.  That's coffee shop info is between you and me.