| "I feel like I've just had my first yoga class, "says | | | | Fran started as a weightlifter. "That's what got me |
| Fran, a mom of three and a well-toned yoga | | | | into trouble. I was in so much pain in my hips. I went |
| practitioner of some experience. "I feel great." Fran is | | | | to my first power yoga class. I loved it. It was letting |
| sensing the immediate benefits of her yoga practice, | | | | go, a big simplification. You don't even need shoes for |
| currently based at Park Cities Yoga on Lovers Lane. | | | | yoga." |
| As a mother of three, Fran is like a lot of people. | | | | But is yoga enough of a workout? "The power yoga |
| Working moms juggle getting their kids to school on | | | | was an all-inclusive workout. I got cardio, cleansing (I |
| time, meeting deadlines, business travel, soccer | | | | was sweating like a pig), stretching and strength |
| practice, ballet, groceries, visits to the vet and dentist | | | | using my entire body. |
| . . . you know the routine. All this running around | | | | Her story with yoga changes, however, as she |
| doesn't mean simply that they're busy; it means that | | | | grows into it. Fran's friend Vashti agrees that a |
| their minds are racing ahead or behind nearly | | | | person's yoga practice changes over time. "Yoga is |
| constantly. It means worrying about the cascade of | | | | an amazing form of exercise, but it's something |
| events triggered by your first grader forgetting his | | | | more, too. Look, people study 80 years or more |
| lunch. It means anticipating the necessary daily care | | | | doing this. They have gone into the mountains in their |
| for your invalid mother. It means fighting to maintain | | | | pursuit of yoga. I have to be a little reverent about |
| an even keel in the face of overwhelming demands | | | | it." |
| and information. | | | | That being said, yoga is not a religion or belief |
| For more than 16 million Americans, yoga is their | | | | system. Yoga is a practice of "putting yourself |
| not-so-secret weapon to help them do what needs | | | | together" in the present moment. It's a system of |
| to be done. Whether you are a working mom or a | | | | exercises that unify breath, attention, and the body. |
| working man, whether you drive a Benz or a bus, | | | | In fact, the word yoga means "to yoke, to put |
| whether you perform surgery or Beethoven, yoga is | | | | together, a union." You can practice yoga as a |
| a way to simplify your life. For yoga devotees, yoga | | | | Catholic, a born-again Baptist, a Mormon, Buddhist, |
| is the tool to transform regret and worry into the | | | | Hindu, Unitarian, Agnostic. Whatever your spiritual |
| comfort of the here and now. | | | | orientation, yoga can enhance your life by bringing it |
| Take Elaine, also a Park Cities Yoga client, as another | | | | all together. |
| example. "I was a triple-A personality type. Now I | | | | Fran observes, "After one year it became more than |
| handle situations differently. I take a conscious breath | | | | a physical workout. That's when I began to progress. |
| and I focus on the moment, not the what-ifs. Yoga | | | | I began to see yoga as applicable to something more |
| has helped me be gracious in stress." | | | | - life! I quit making things so difficult. Yoga led me to |
| One misperception about yoga is that you already | | | | quit drinking. Yoga put that into action." |
| need to be flexible and athletic to do it. That is not | | | | Fran isn't alone. Many of the clients at Park Cities |
| the case. Start with what you've got. Can't touch | | | | Yoga report changes in their physical health and in |
| your toes? Just reach for them and breathe. Can't do | | | | their overall sense of well-being - changes they |
| a backbend? Place a small pillow under your back and | | | | attribute to their yoga practice. It's not surprising |
| breathe. Or just start with meditation coupled with | | | | then that this thousands-year-old tradition persists, |
| conscious breathing. You can start with easy poses | | | | and continues to grow here in America. |
| progressing to challenging feats of flexibility and | | | | The tradition first came to Texas in 1967 when |
| strength, if you so desire. No matter your level of | | | | Kumar Pallana, a performer and yogi, first opened the |
| ability and experience, conscious breathing and | | | | Dallas Yoga and Health Centre. Now at age 87 he has |
| personal guidance from an experienced yoga | | | | more energy than people half his age. You might |
| instructor can help you reach your goals. | | | | recognize Kumar as the loveable old man in films such |
| That means you can practice yoga if you're | | | | as Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tennenbaums, and |
| pregnant, middle-aged, retired, sick, recovering, | | | | Rushmore. Most recently, he charmed Catherine |
| injured, overweight, over-stressed, overbearing, or | | | | Zeta-Jones as the ring-juggling Gupta in Steven |
| over-easy. You can practice mornings, afternoons, or | | | | Speilberg's The Terminal. As full of stories as he is |
| evenings. Start simply. | | | | wisdom, Kumar reminds his yoga students that "yoga |
| The best way to begin your yoga practice may not | | | | develops strength, flexibility, coordination, balance, |
| be watching a yoga video. Thousands of yoga videos | | | | health, concentration, confidence, self-satisfaction, |
| collect dust. And the simplest way may not be to | | | | and peace of mind." Kumar is a walking example of |
| jump into a session that demands too much too fast. | | | | yoga's benefits. After all, how many 87-year-olds do |
| The simplest way is to find the right class and the | | | | you know that follow up a six-week film shoot with |
| right teacher for you. If you don't know all about the | | | | nation-wide promotion tours and yoga seminars, |
| styles of yoga, then discuss your own limitations or | | | | interspersed with trips to visit family and friends in |
| conditions with the instructor and ask about how you | | | | India? |
| might fit in to what they offer. Ask about pace, | | | | Yoga may not turn you into a movie star like Kumar |
| physical demand, level of intensity, etc. Call around. In | | | | (but who knows? Maybe it will). At the very least, |
| Dallas there are yoga classes for all levels, ages, and | | | | yoga will deliver what you put into it. Best of all, yoga |
| conditions. With just a little research, you're sure to | | | | can simplify your life. |
| find what's right for you. | | | | |