As Roland mentioned a while back, I've been practising yoga for around 10 years now. Long before Madonna made it hip and long before the recent yoga craze.

I decided to explore yoga because I needed to find a way to decompress from working in a stressful job in the Downtown Eastside. I thought it was a good way to relax, help me sleep better and increase my flexibility. Little did I know of the other benefits or the long journey that I was going to embark on.

So I started going to a hatha yoga class at a community centre and it was pretty basic...learning how to breathe, basic stretches and exercises that would lead to poses or asanas. After every class I felt great--more limber, relaxed and funny enough, more energized.

I then came upon Iyengar yoga...not by choice but because the class I was taking had a new instructor and she was certified in the Iyengar tradition. Luckily it suited my needs and my body. In a nutshell, Iyengar focuses on body mechanics and working to one's own place by using props as aids. The philosophy is about achieving meditation through working on poses and breath.

Some folks joke about it as yoga for Type A personalities. I love it because I feel safe...no pushing myself too far and using props to help work deeper towards achieving the full pose. And when I practise, I do reach a level of meditation while I'm busy focusing on what this arm, that leg, my neck, etc. are supposed to be doing while I'm also focusing on breathing. I tend to let everything else go.

The most profound benefit of yoga that I've experienced was going through labour. Over the years I've been able to build a strong mind-body connection. So when those contractions hit, I was able to focus on using my breath and voice to get through them. And practising yoga during my pregnancy was a wonderful way to strengthen my body for the endurance test.

It took me a while to get back into yoga after S was born. Home practise has never been my strength and it was hard to get away when I was nursing a lot. When I returned to classes I felt like I always do when I return to something I haven't done for a while...I realized how much I missed it. So I'm back into weekly classes and I'm working on building my strength again and psyching myself into doing inversions once more.

Even after practising for so long, I constantly have revelations. A couple of weeks ago my instructor mentioned a way of doing one of the poses that I've never quite felt completely comfortable doing. I don't know if I missed classes where she's mentioned it or she hasn't mentioned it before or if I just didn't hear it. I finally get it! I love those moments! The yoga journey continues....