I was not a fan of yoga.

The only reason why I bought a yoga package from the neighbourhood yoga studio, Yoga Inc, was so I can take the *hot classes. My thought process was: "If I sweat a lot, it might compensate for my unhealthy habits." I also thought since hot yoga will keep my body in least comfort for an hour, it will help me in centering myself for pole dancing. Though not wrong, I just didn't feel any other happiness-sparking connection with yoga then.

*hot yoga classes are those classes held in a heated room and the temperature goes up to 40 degrees Celsius
Last November, merely six weeks before my snowboarding trip to Niseko, I was looking up on what I can do to make myself become better on the snow. A lot of the expert advice were saying "take up yoga" and that I did.

I stopped going to hot classes, and instead went for Hatha and Flow. Even when I went to Bali for the Christmas holidays, I only did yoga. It was not my first choice, but the only pole studio in Bali was too far or at the time when I was nearby, there were no classes. In Ubud, the yoga instructor also taught meditation. I thought it was cool and I was amazed at how much time had actually passed by, but we were only seated down and it only felt like a minute or two.

Coming back from holidays, I took yoga again from my neighbourhood studio. This time I took Core Yoga, which was more like Crossfit disguised as yoga. Like the former, Ice was struggling but just hours after I felt instantly stronger.

The experts were right. I felt so much better and much stronger during my 10-day snowboarding trip. I had better control of my center of gravity, which meant I fell down less. My core was stronger, which meant my turns were easier to do and eventually link. In short, I came back from that trip wanting more of both snowboarding and yoga. Because I'm so sure that the yoga helped immensely.


Even when I got back to my pole classes, it was different. Usually my shoulders are weak and would pop off once in a while. That hasn't happened again yet.

Just last month, I have signed up for around a total of 35 classes which I can take near my place (Yoga Inc) and another one near my office (Meraki Yoga) for the next three months. The thought of this excites me, which made me realise I now unironically enjoy yoga.

It's my birthday month this month and my wish is to become stronger every year, and feel better than the last year.


PS I still cannot do a proper chaturanga