I'm not your typical yoga person. In fact, I don't even come close to fitting the profile of a yoga person. First of all, I'm a dude. I'm tall (6'7" to be exact). Yes, is the answer to your next question: I played basketball. I played for four years in college at Columbia, in New York City. I also was president of my fraternity.
After college, I worked on Wall Street as an equities trader for five years. Did I even mention the injuries I have? Dislocated shoulders, separated shoulders, stress fractures, bone spurs and disc problems. I'll stop there because I'm totally fine -- have absolutely no pain -- partly due to yoga. I practiced yoga weekly for two years, was just starting to get the hang of it, before work travel took over. The discs in my lower back derailed (literally) and I was off my yoga train. I'm only about three months back into my practice, but I'm back on board the yoga train, full-speed ahead.
So how does a tall-ex-wall-street-trading-fraternity-boy-jock end up practicing yoga? Well, it just sorta happened.
Competitive sports are rough on the body.
I'm 35 and playing pick-up basketball just really isn't an option, as I'm always just one rebound (or I'd still like to think one dunk) away from my shoulder popping out. Not fun.
The gym lacks camaraderie and community.
Since I turned 15, I've been hitting the gym an average of three to five times a week, lifting weights, doing the elliptical (or the 'perpetual motion' machine as my good friend, Michael Taylor likes to call it). Granted, lifting weights in the gym was a lot more fun in college when our whole team would lift together in the off-season or before practice. But since then, it just isn't the same.
I got married.
Yes, another benefit of marriage other than love and tax benefits, is finding an activity that's good for the body that you can do together. Since we both work a ton, finding 'date' time is sometimes difficult. So what better date than a 'fitness' date? Lifting weights together isn't a viable option for us and neither is running (not so good on my knees).
I found a class that was a fit for me.
