I Tried Yoga for the First Time at Age 45. I Never Dreamed it Would Change My Life.

Three summers ago, on a whim, I signed my daughter and I up for a gentle yoga class. At the time, I was looking for an activity that would give my daughter some screen-free time and light exercise. Beyond that, I had zero intentions for myself, and assumed once school started back up in the fall, that would be it for yoga.  

Things did not go according to plan. One gentle yoga class led to another that summer, and before I knew it, we were regularly in the studio 3 times per week. It’s hard to describe what happened to me during that time, but it started with peace.

There was such a sense of calm inside the studio. I felt so FREE there. 

For an entire 75 minutes, no one expected anything from me. For a type A, forever multi-tasking, work-from-home mother-of-3, who usually needs to be in two places at once, with a brain that never truly shuts off – being left alone in a quiet space where I wasn’t in charge, felt GLORIOUS. 

Peace and freedom were just the beginning of my journey. 

Here are six more unexpected ways yoga has changed my life…

1.

I learned how to breathe. This might sound ridiculous – especially for a former flutist and vocal soloist who knows how to engage her diaphragm as a musician. When I first started going to yoga, if the teacher would cue the class “to breathe,” I assumed the reminders were for my classmates.  

In time, I realized every time we were reminded to breathe, I was almost always HOLDING my breath.  

What really became fascinating was the revelataion that the way I breathed during class mirrored how I moved through life. Just as I’d clench my jaw and hold my breath to push through a challenging pose, I caught myself doing the same thing in difficult moments off the mat.

2.

I was given “permission” to rest. I know…who needs to be given “permission” to rest? I guess I did. As that type A perfectionist, I lived by hard work and high standards. Being efficient, productive, and always pushing myself to go the extra mile were normal for me. I usually didn’t stop until I fell into bed. 

I was shocked to learn that at the end of every class, we were asked to take “the most important pose” of our practice – Savasana (Sanskrit for “corpse pose”). If you’ve never done this before, it’s basically a mini nap to relaxing music (or silence) at the end of every class. It’s the best reward for making it through a physically demanding class, and is such a gift to yourself at the end of a gentle or restorative practice.

3.

I learned how to quiet my mind. I was someone who loved the idea of mindfulness and meditation, but deep down felt like I couldn’t do it. I didn’t think I was capable of it. My mind was always thinking, anticipating, and planning. I had no idea how to silence that.

But something happened to me in the yoga studio. As soon as my teacher started playing the harmonium, chanting, and guiding us through pranayama breathing techniques, my brain grew quieter, my to-do list faded, and suddenly I could “hear” if my body or soul were trying to tell me something. I discovered my mind could settle enough to meditate, and I actually loved it.  

4.

I re-connected with myself. After nearly two decades of intense motherhood (2 of my 3 kids are twins, and one has special needs), I was exhausted. I love my babies with all my heart, but somewhere along the line, I lost the multi-faceted me in endless piles of laundry, groceries, homework, carpools, extra-curriculars, and have-tos. 

At yoga, it was just me. 

Once my mind quieted, I could breathe and enjoy the silence. I got physically stronger – SO much stronger, and lost weight for the first time in my life without even trying. 

And there was something else – something almost magical, mystical, and spiritual happening at practice. 

Something in the studio was touching me deep inside my heart, inside my soul.

I remember telling my mom that sometimes it felt like we were praying, or I’d experienced an old feeling I used to get going to church when the music was just right. 

Before I even knew the definition for yoga (union of body, mind, and spirit), those aspects of myself were finding their way back to each other.

I couldn’t explain it at the time, but this re-integration of all the parts of me was why I started feeling better in my life as a whole, and why I felt more like me than I had in YEARS. 

5.

I found community.  As an introvert, I’ve always been perfectly content on my own. Life with a family of five (plus two dogs!) is anything but quiet, and between that and time spent with extended family and friends, my “social cup” has always felt full. I’ve never felt the need to search for additional connection, especially in a larger group setting. 

When I first started going to yoga, I would smile to greet classmates, but mostly kept my head down, did my thing, and left. 

Over time, I started to recognize the same faces showing up to what became my regular classes. They were there rain or shine, no matter what was happening in their personal lives or the outside world. If someone missed a week for vacation or illness, they always came back. It wasn’t like a gym membership you slowly ghosted over time (yes I’ve done that, lol!) – there was this quiet commitment to always return.

Whether they knew it or not, my teachers and classmates were quietly modeling how to prioritize self-care and faithfully honor a deep commitment to self and something greater. 

Somewhere along the way, without even realizing it, I became part of a community I never knew I needed – and now can’t imagine being without.

6.

I became a yoga teacher. I bet you didn’t see that one coming!! Neither did I. Sometimes I still don’t believe this one myself. But here I am, less than 6 months after graduating from RYT-200, and I’m teaching a gentle class once a week in the same studio I fell in love with 3 years ago. 

I never imagined yoga would become such a huge part of who I am, or that I would learn how to share it with others in the deeply meaningful way it’s been shared with me. I still have so much to learn, and feel a bit like an imposter most days up in front of the class, but then I remind myself to breathe and share from my heart. 

If you’ve never tried yoga, but always wondered if you might like it – you owe it to yourself to TRY IT. 

It doesn’t matter how old you are, what your background is, how much you weigh, if you’re a woman or a man, have spiritual beliefs, or no beliefs. 

Yoga is for EVERYONE, and is a gift that will trickle down into every aspect of your life if you simply keep showing up. 

I’m the third one in from the left, standing with my YTT-200 classmates on our graduation day with our beloved teacher, Loretta Jo (middle).