After getting very sick last spring, I decided that once I got over a nasty bug that did not want to go away that I would start taking better care of myself. I don’t really eat a lot of junk food, and I’ve never really liked eating much meat. My main issue with food was just eating too much. Even if the food you eat is healthy food, you can eat too much of it. However, another big issue concerning my health was my lack of activity. I was a sloth. I did almost zero exercise. I had lots and lots of reasons why this happened, but rather than talk about reasons why I didn’t exercise, this post is about why and how I started to exercise just about daily. Even if it was five minutes, my goal was to start moving, and yoga was my choice of exercise.

As a tween, then teenager, and then young adult, I was very active when it came to dance. I took ballet, jazz, and tap for many years. Mixed in here and there with dance classes was the occasional exposure to yoga, usually on PBS television. There are many similarities to dance and yoga, especially alignment and stretching.

As I got older, I would often come and go to various yoga classes, but I never had the discipline to keep at it. Then I joined Gaia online. You’ve probably seen those ads on Facebook about doing yoga at home. Well, I checked into a number of similar programs online, and I decided on Gaia because I was familiar with them (and Rodney Yee too), and the price was right (about $10 a month for unlimited access).

With the new year on the way, many of us start a new program of some kind, so full disclosure, I’m offering my affiliate link to join Gaia. From now until the end of January 2018, I’ll receive some freebies if anyone joins through me. I suggesting trying it out with the 99 cent offer for one month (which is what I did). Then you can see if it really works for you. There are thousands of videos available, and I like that you can find anything from a quick 7 minute workout to a longer and more intense hour plus workout. There are also all levels, but I have to admit, I stick mainly with the beginners to level 2-3 still. Some of my fav instructors over there are Rodney Yee, Clara Roberts-Oss, and Colleen Saidman. Another reason this program works for me is that I can use my ipad or even phone and do it anywhere in the house. With that said, my yoga mat is calling me.