This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Yoga: A New Beginning

Anne Samit, a student at Village Yoga, recalls her introduction to yoga. Nearly one year later, she notes the impact of her practice.

It was the end of October 2010, the days were getting shorter, darkness falling earlier and earlier.

This is usually the start of a sort of hibernation for me, driving home from work in the crisp and cold with the 6 p.m. stars already shining. Not really the time of year to embark on any sort of change.

During this time, I am not sure what made me finally take action on what had been sitting on the floor of my car, among so many other things: a flyer for the new yoga studio, Village Yoga, in Potomac Village. I looked at the schedule, chose a class, called a friend and showed up. 

Find out what's happening in Potomacwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This was a very big deal for me, never having been a big exerciser and never having joined a gym. I came equipped with the following inexperience: a few yoga classes with my daughter once upon a time, dance classes at summer camp many moons earlier and, in another lifetime, dancing on Robert Frost’s and Thomas Wootton’s Pom Pom squads.

, set me at ease right away. Open, kind, easy going and fun, he turned on the music, and we all stood at the top of our mats. The music, my music of Paul Simon, Bob Marley, Elton John and more, filled the room as he took us through flows of poses and took the time to walk around the room and adjust our positions.

Find out what's happening in Potomacwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The studio was warm, both the atmosphere and the temperature, the rubber mat seemed to anchor me on the wood floor, and the mirror at the front of the room reflected the class moving at all levels but somehow together. Something in me connected to the music and the long ago dance lessons, and the flow and instruction had a hypnotizing effect. I was hooked.

Eager to come back, the only time outside the weekend that allowed for my full-time work schedule was at 6 a.m. I peeled myself out of bed the following Monday morning, still not believing what I was doing, had a little coffee and drove to the village. Crisp and cold with the 6 a.m. stars now shining, I showed up for class and became a regular. 

It’s now August 2011, and yoga has become a huge part of my life, and the yoga studio is now my second home. Just like every day is a bit different, so is every practice. I have discovered that yoga has the power to change my mood, my outlook, my body, my life. It has impacted me in ways I could not have guessed, and I hope to blog about the surprising discoveries it has blessed me with along the way.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?