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David Sedaris: Yoga Instructor

As I mentioned previously, Roger and I recently joined the local YMCA.  Our primary impetus was access to exercise equipment so that Roger could rehab from his recent knee surgery.  It has been a good investment, though.  I'm certainly not averse to exercise. I just have trouble making time for it with everything else going on in my life.  It almost always shoots to the bottom of the priority list. 

Now I have no excuse.

Generally, I don't do a lot of group exercise. On any given day that I visit the Y, I like to get about 45-60 minutes of cardio in while I read the latest selection from my local library and then do a little bit of strength training. My favorite part of joining the Y so far, though, has been regular yoga classes.  

I love yoga because everyone gets to set their own pace. The best yoga instructors know how to make adaptations for the less flexible in the class (Yep. That's me.) and, when all else fails, it's the most serene 60 minutes of my week.  There are days when I come home from work exhausted, frustrated, or completely whipped.  I have learned that while my first instinct might be to vegetate in front of TV on the couch, what I really need is yoga.  So I usually go.

The other thing I love about yoga is that it forces me out of my head.  Like improvisation, yoga requires you to be in the moment.  If you are distracted, thinking about dinner plans or your endless to-do list, or the conversation you had hours ago with your boss, you won't find your happy place.  But if you focus on your breathing and the stretch and the pattern of the Sun Salutation, pretty soon, that's all you are thinking about.  

What inevitably happens in this situation is that you focus on your instructor's voice.  It was in one of these Zen moments during yoga class recently that I realized that my yoga instructor's voice bears a striking resemblance to that of David Sedaris.  

If you don't know who David Sedaris is (or what he sounds like), you should go listen to his Santaland Diary story that is played annually on NPR.  Really. You should listen to it RIGHT NOW.

Sometimes this is the picture that
sits in my head during yoga class
Finished? Do you have a picture in your head now? Good! It is also worth noting that aside from his voice, my yoga instructor bears very little resemblance to Sedaris in looks or personality.  In fact, the juxtaposition of hearing Crumpet the Elf say, "Focus on your breath. Let your mind open as you stretch." while I am twisting into a pretzel pose often results in me stifling a giggle.  

So don't mind me, sitting in the back of your yoga class on that purple mat, laughing at what seems like nothing.  It's just me. Getting some quality Zen time with David Sedaris: Yoga Instructor.  
 

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