My Corner

It's funny how attached I can get to a particular spot.

This is my preferred spot at the Wednesday afternoon Gentle Yoga II class I've been taking. I like to arrive early, as I did today, so I can spread my mat and place my blankets in the front of the room. Because I am a strongly visual person, this helps me not be distracted by what the other students are doing.

My spot is on the left side of the room, which encourages me to look to the right and move my body slightly that way. This is beneficial because I have scoliosis, which causes the right side of my torso to torque a little to the left. (It's not immediately apparent when you look at me, other than my right hip being a little higher than my left.)

I came to yoga out of pain. In 2005, I experienced several months of acute lower back pain, the result of a lifetime of sitting (I am one of those "good students," loving books, who grow up to be a writer/editor with no predilection for outdoor activities.) Among the treatment modalities recommended to me was a gentle yoga class at an Iyengar yoga studio.

I found it immensely helpful, both for the stretching and greater body awareness that was inherent in the class, and also for the quietness, both mental and physical. That holds true today, as well. I look forward to this mid-week time away from the stimulus of everyday life.