I had never really thought about trying Yoga before I came across it a year ago.  What I knew about Yoga was nothing more than stretching and contorting the body into a human pretzel.  I have always had natural flexibility. For their amusement, my parents always used to ask me to put my legs behind my head at family events.  After growing up the only regular exercise I did was swimming.  Even though I can no longer put my legs behind my head as easily as I used to, the flexibility remains.  I love challenges and new things, such as skiing and surfing.  I was never really interested in Yoga, simply because it wasn’t challenging enough for me.

I first came to SPACE only because it was trendy.  It wasn’t until I met Bruce that I got to know what Yoga is.  I can still hear him saying, “… to do any pose is like building a house, you have to build the foundation first then the rest…”.  I learned that Yoga has a long history and many styles, and it is actually a spiritual practice.  Under Bruce’s guidance, I realized that Yoga is more than a physical practice, it can transform the soul, cultivate modesty, self-acceptance, tolerance, surrender, etc..  This new realization had a profound influence on me.  I started falling in love with Yoga.  Soon after Bruce left I dropped my practice.

That is, until one day when I heard about a kind of very challenging practice called Ashtanga.  I took my first Ashtanga class only two months after I started practicing Yoga.  I could hardly follow the flow in the class.  Even though my flexibility allowed me do certain postures, I did not have enough strength.  I kept thinking “oh my, this is boot camp! I’m so tired…” I remember that I could only put one foot on my thigh in Padmasana, it hurt like crazy after I put the other foot on. I could not imagine pushing myself up off the floor for 5 breaths in this pose.  At that time I could only last two breaths in the pose. I kept hoping that the class would end.  At first, I felt that Ashtanga was not for me.  After the class the teacher said to me “you have great flexibility, but you need to increase your strength”.  Strength was never my thing. At home my sister always carried heavy things for me!  Then I dropped my practice again, until I met Sharon.  With her gentle style of teaching, I become very interested in Ashtanga.  I even became addicted and would push myself to get up early to practice.

Ashtanga has really trained my stamina and determination. This is a great practice for someone as impatient as me.  Even though the practice is hard, it is very rewarding.  I want to give special thanks to Sharon and Emma who have encouraged me greatly.  I enjoy other classes, i.e. flow, hot , restorative, and Anusara.  I can learn and experience different things from every class.  Now, I’ve practiced for a year.  Yoga has become an integral part of my life. I’m in love with Yoga and will continue learning. I want to thank everyone at SPACE.