by Ana L. Palles

I have been taking yoga classes for about six months now. It is something I needed to do for myself in order to work on correcting some of the postural deficiencies which have plagued me since I was in 7th grade.

Trips to a chiropractor confirmed what I already knew. The curvature of my spine and my rounded shoulders were genetic traits. Exercise to strengthen the muscles certainly helped, but the structure of my bones was something I could see mirrored in the women of my family.

Several rounds of Rolfing later, where I bit my lip and remembered to breathe into the pain, I was beginning to feel that perhaps there was hope. Creating space and rotating some of those bones and ligaments back to better alignment was very difficult and painful, but I could clearly feel the benefits.

My chest and my back treasured the deeper breathing that always accompanied my sessions. This was when I realized that in order to help sustain this effect, I needed to add something new to my exercise regimen. I needed something that would focus on shifting the body's structures, expanding my breathing and build the strength to maintain the slow evolution. A light bulb suddenly went off and I realized that Yoga was the ticket for me.

I've always been intrigued by the title of the Ann Tyler book "The Accidental Tourist." It is descriptive of how I have lived my life, by stumbling into situations and rarely planning ahead. My life could be entitled, "The Accidental Human."

On the surface, I appear to carry off this very structured persona. I have run sizeable projects both for personal and business objectives. I accomplish everything I set my mind on. But the dreaded secret that my close family and my closest friends know is that I wander thru life relying on serendipity. I investigate different paths just because I happen to see a flash of color go by that catches my attention.

The past, present, and future all coexist for me. I move quickly between images and senses, often forgetting that I have not completed sentences, or finished thoughts. This trait has been with me since childhood and caused my parents great frustration while I was growing up.

As I have gotten older, I have realized that I simply need to slow down and try to be thoughtful of my listener. After all, it was my job to draw the picture of the images, not the other person's job to have their psychic abilities tested.

It was time for structure if I was going to be effective in any job.

Managing large projects demanded that I think ahead, plan, anticipate and adjust if things were not clicking. Bottom line was always about results. Come what may, we would get to the finish line. I was always good at creating structures and even better at foreseeing where something would go.

Structure provides predictability and I found that I had greater success with others if I provided a clear process, set expectations, and followed thru on those expectations. We are bombarded with so much change on the job and in our day to day life that creating a framework can be quite calming when working with groups. At least it appears calming until we realize that we cannot stop change.

Yoga works on structures as well. There are both physical and mental constructs that we create around ourselves as we develop who we are, how we look, and how we move. These are so fundamental to us that we rarely pay attention anymore to how we stand, walk, bend over, or sit down. Yoga challenges both the mind and the body to shift. We think of bones as brittle and set, but what we don't realize is that they are living and capable of fluidity and movement.

Generally, we are not conscious of the positions of our bones. Far from being an abstract concept, our bones are a physical representation of structure for it is the skeletal system which provides the frame on which the muscles and skin are dressed. We can even move our bones deeper into our bodies -- rotate them or expand them.

As we get older and our balance becomes more challenged, we don't even realize that a portion of that is due to the way in which we have been holding our bodies. Like an Escher drawing, our sense of perspective and balance can be distorted.

Sometimes these structures remind me of artificial coral reefs. Delicate creatures can flourish within new ecospheres as long as a process is followed which provides methodical layering. Coral reefs need to sway to the movement of the waters and the marine life that glide past and through it. Some creatures cling and dance to their own rhythms swaying in the ebbs and flows.

Buildings constructed in earthquake zones carry forward these principles providing both stability and a graceful wave when needed. In this situation, rigidity is much more fragile, less reliable, and decidedly unsafe. Structures have to be capable of flowing with change if they are to be truly strong.

I have just added a second yoga class to my schedule. The principles I have been learning and the effects on my mind and body have been phenomenal. I am not the personification of this spiritual discipline. I'm not the lithe, tall, long-limbed yoga student floating down the hall on her way to class, but rather a short, pear-shaped person that generally stumbles into the room having tripped on her own feet.

I am hoping that with time, I can develop a greater grace and fluidity. I have certainly found an increased ability to release some of the structures I have clung to for so many years without fear that I will lose myself. The accidental discovery is renewed strength, replenishing energy, and a new experience of joy in breathing deeply.

If you've decided that you're interested in exploring this further. How do you get started? The best way is to go to a beginner class so that you can work directly with a teacher and with others similar to you. Being present in a class is a completely different experience than watching a DVD from home. The review of your form by the teacher and the positive reinforcement that you receive from participating in a class is simply phenomenal. However, there are also some very good TV series and DVD's out there which are very effective.

City Recreation Centers

These usually have a wide variety of yoga classes available throughout the week and on weekends. Sign up for a drop-in class to sample the style, the teacher and the practice itself. For Yoga beginners, Iyengar yoga, which focuses on the form and uses props to facilitate the poses, is a good choice.

Yoga Studios

Most cities have a variety of yoga studios, from the heated Bikram yoga to Ashtanga, Hatha and Iyengar. Most studios will let you attend a complimentary class so that you can evaluate their studio and teacher. Getting the right match is important because so much of your ability to stay consistent with the practice depends on the connection you make with the studio and teacher.

Yoga on TV