By Camden Gilreath & Nick Perlin
Sports Editor & Social Media Director
Cam’s Perspective
The soothing vibes were ubiquitous, a proliferation of positive emotions permeating the entire space. Every person surrounding me emanated a vibrant aura. The clock about to strike 11:30 AM, I anxiously waited to embark on my journey.
Despite fitting most of the criteria for an athletic kid stereotype, I always felt like there were more things for me to experience within the realm of athletics. I’ve dabbled in most ball-oriented sports, swimming, and boxing, but there still seemed to be something glaring missing on my resúmé: yoga. I got a glimpse of the discipline by enrolling in a full-throttle yoga class, and it was one of the most transformative, invigorating experiences of my life thus far.
Although not very daunting at first glance, I must advise that yoga is not an activity to be taken lightly. It’s a tangible and intangible experience. Conflating metaphysical concepts and physical challenges, yoga assures that your brain and body are stimulated at the same time. Midway through, your thighs, hips, calves, arms, and core are all substantially taxed. Your muscles will tremble and you’ll contemplate surrendering once or twice. However, the rewarding feeling it evokes far outweighs the temporary pain you feel during the session. The feeling of tranquility and rejuvenation in the aftermath was something foreign to me, until now. I felt like nothing was the same.
The classroom was pedestaled above a beautiful scene, as it dangled over the vast and majestic Lake Kittamaqundi. Being able to peer at a gorgeous landscape urged along my descendance into peace. Body contortionists and flexible yoga aficionados surrounded me, a clueless novice to the practice. However, rather than intimidate me, their prowess encouraged me to attain the best version of myself. Whenever I wandered off course, my next door neighbor was able to help me maintain my composure. Believe it or not, I aspire to achieve their caliber within the yoga community.
In my opinion, this palpable, soul-lifting sensation is unrivaled. I could feel my negative emotions being ushered out of my body as the session progressed. The elements of nature and I were compatible. The best word to describe how I felt was detoxified. The toxins left and my entire being felt replenished.
All in all, this was a momentous occasion for me, as I discovered something I really enjoy. The first inkling of thought that emerged in my mind immediately after was, That lasted 90 minutes? The well-traveled adage, albeit a bit cliche, rings true: Time flies when you’re having fun.
Nick’s Perspective
“Okay class, we are going to start with three ooms. “OOOOOOOOOHHHMMMMMMM.”
I held back laughter as I sat on my mat. I couldn’t hold it in, I buried my head in my lap and died laughing until the teacher moved into the first pose.
The teacher was great and very patient. They also had a women in the front whose job was simply to mirror what was going on and also must lead by example. That was cool, I was following along, until next thing I know this women is in a full handstand with her legs on top of her head. That’s when I realized I was on my own. Yoga is hard work, and I guess if you read the perspective on the person above, you may think yoga is the answer to all world conflicts, but it is difficult.
Now let me not get on a tangent because then you may think that I hated my experience at the yoga class, which is untrue. I am merely saying that as a complete beginner in yoga, it was difficult, because there is no teaching you just try to mirror what everyone else is doing. First time yoga goers may feel a little overwhelmed by all the difficult poses and the body twisting routines. Regardless, at the end of the routine, we spent time just breathing and listening to the wallpaper yoga music, I finally felt one with the earth, wind, water, fire, ground, universe, the sun, the grass, whatever, I don’t know. It did help my mood and I ended up having some time to reflect and relax my tense muscles, but it was very overwhelming, and sometimes I lost focus because of the funny music and the elderly people who take yoga very (very) seriously with their homing and their humming. Either way, I can say the yoga experience was interesting and good for the most part, but I couldn’t help but laugh at some of these interesting noises and positions.
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