Ms. Gannet
English 12
5th Friday 2014
That Something About You…
Every morning I wake up at fie while the sun still sleeps just as the majority of people in my apartment building. This ritual serves as an avenue to channel m energy into. There is a wide spread view held in our society that yoga is not athletically challenging. My rampant heard rate and sore muscles after
every session can attest to that. Yoga, when properly practiced challenges and stimulates not just the
muscles of the body but the mind and the most important organ, the heart as well.
One may not feel physically or mentally stimulated right from the start as opposed to other forms of exercise like running or weight training, especially if they are physically fit. With repeating more
movements however you’ll start to feel the burn. If practiced as it should be, Yoga lessens the tightening
of the muscles (the pain you feel when performing a downward dog for example) because of the
abundance of oxygen circulating to your muscles. Transitioning from inclined to declined positions
encourage the flow of oxygen from one part of the body to another. Inhaling from your stomach and
carrying the oxygen towards the lungs in each position as well as when transitioning to another one gets
your heart racing but will not leave you breathless, instead you feel prompted to keep moving. This flow
of energy is the core concept of yoga as the principles, beliefs and exercises are derived from it. This
flow of energy is the aim of yoga. Proper breathing technique along with exercise that encourages the
flow of oxygen deliver the mind to a focused sate that can be best described as, “living in the moment”.
In this state, one feels at one with everything and present in life.
My first encounter with yoga was in the 9th grade. At the time, I was diligently studying ballet and jazz dancing. My teacher suggested to join the gym to