Yoga is good for me

Elizabeth Templin McCamic

When I first started running, six years ago, I would attend weekly yoga sessions on Sunday afternoons. I found that yoga was a great way for me to stretch, relax and recover each week. It seemed to help my muscles heal a little faster and made me feel really good.

Then I went to grad school and my regular workout routine went out the window. I still ran but not as much as I wanted to, and getting to a yoga class was too hard to fit in around classes, assignments, internships and interviews.

I've been out of grad school for a couple of years now, but I still hadn't made the time to attend a class until last week, when I randomly found myself with a free afternoon. Yoga had been on my mind for weeks, but I just couldn't seem to squeeze in another workout.

Now I am so glad I did. I went to a vinyasa yoga class at my local Y and left feeling amazing. Despite the stretching I do after runs, my legs, shoulders and back were really stiff. After an hour of poses, I felt great - more relaxed than I'd felt in days, taller and looser. The next day my run felt awesome, too. I had an extra spring in my step.

The lesson from all this is I should make time to do the things I know are good for me. And yoga is among them. Even as an adult, this is hard to put into practice. But I'm going to do my best to follow through with this one.