Mmm, Movement!

A recent Slate article discusses why Americans have (gradually) fallen head over heels in love with yoga.

mmmmovement

We take part in P.E. from a young age, being graded & critiqued on our ‘athletic skills’.  It is such a narrow category: dodgeball, capture the flag, team sports.  Dealing with the effect of being picked last was a blow from my classmates.  Adults struck by grading my body’s performance, teaching me that it was incapable.

It’s not necessarily a negative to strive to be the best, but fitness doesn’t always have to be linked with a competition. There is something to be said about movement for the sake of movement.  There is a revolution of people who are learning that exercise can be more than a gym or a grade.  It can be more than just another test.

Why do people do yoga?  For the same reason that some people pick up a hoop & never want to let go.

To get in touch with themselves one-on-one.

To do one thing at a time & feel GREAT doing it.

To discover that your body has amazing things to harness.

To stretch upwards, to wiggle, to cha-cha-cha…

3 thoughts on “Mmm, Movement!

  1. I’d like to add that folks like yoga (and hooping) because it’s non-competitive, mostly. Except now Bikram is trying to get yoga into the Olympics…bah, Bikram, bah.

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