In-Powered Guest Blog by Juan

Ms. Cash’s YES Prep Yoga Class

My Yoga Experience

Yoga had not really interested me, so why am I in yoga?  In a way I decided to be in yoga, though I didn't initially agree with it 100%.  I originally wanted physical education as my first option because yoga was one of my secondary choices.  Since I did not get my option, I was “stuck” with only three choices: yoga, theater, and study hall.  I’m not much of an acting person, so theater was out of the question from the start.  Study hall seemed useful, even though it did not count as a credit, because I would be able to finish my homework there.  I wasn't so sure about Yoga - mostly because I had never taken a yoga class ever before.  However, I stayed optimistic and decided to try out the class and see if it was as interesting as my peers said it was.

My views of yoga before Ms. Cash were overall neutral because, honestly, I didn’t know much about it.  All I knew that you did “meditations”, “stretches”, and other awkward things with your body.  Yoga was something I really did not pay attention to, but it was because I had limited information about it.  I now see yoga as a much positive aspect because I have fun in the class.  Ms. Cash has taught me and my classmates how astonishing yoga actually is.  It is a place to relax, express your emotions and have control and clarity of the thoughts inside your mind.  At first I had some issues in joining yoga, now I am glad that I decided to take yoga as one of my classes.

Yoga has also helped me improve the abilities of my mind, body, and my daily life off the yoga mat. I used to have some trouble dealing with my stress. Though this was not a big issue, I still needed some assistance in clearing my mind.  Yoga provided that for me, with breathing exercises and expressing our emotions towards the class.  

Yoga has also helped me physically because I am experiencing more flexible and less tension in parts of my body I didn’t know were possible. My legs, for instance,  feel more relieved, my arms are gaining strength from the poses, and my breathing is much more controlled.  Now,  in my daily life, I can rely on yoga to help me with non-school stress or to clear my mind from the day.  Yoga has assisted me very much in my life, for the better, and I have no reason to complain with the opportunity provided for me now.