Yoga from the Inside Out: Final Response

I've felt really overwhelmed lately. Actually, I've felt overwhelmed since I started college. Nevertheless, the stress in my life has been at an all time high recently. I look at my schedule and I say, hmm, what can I cut out? I'm involved in a lot of things, but I love those things and Baylor, so I'm not going to cut anything. Fortunately, I've found areas in which I can cut back. Unfortunately, it seems as if as soon as I trim, the hedges get overgrown even faster than before. I'm doing the best that I can with the time that I have, and I was reminded as I read the epilogue that all I can do is keep moving forward, or as Sell said, "keep going." Every day can't be made of sunshine, rainbows, and cancelled classes, so I just have to do my best, knowing that everything will be alright.

Sell described her kula, the family of her heart. I've been thinking about which group of people in my life I would consider my kula. It's hard to say, because I have friends from high school with whom I was close, but we're slowly drifting apart. Then I have my staff and my residents, who are all great, but I don't feel as intimately close with them as others. There are quite a few people with whom I am intimately close in that I would tell them my secrets and things that aren't secret, but that I just don't care to share with the world. I am a vulnerable person, though, so that's not very telling. I suppose my kula consists of three friends, two of whom are close, and one of whom is just getting to know those two. I talk about everything with them, especially where I'm at in my health and fitness realm. We don't talk seminar style, but when I'm talking with them respectively, those things come into the conversation. In fact, one of them helped me with my headstand the other day. (I have a hard time getting my legs up :( None of them are committed to maintaining a healthy active lifestyle like me, but that's more than fine because they all support me in my endeavors. Sometimes I think it would be easier for me to be consistent in my pursuits if I had more liked-minded friends. At the same time, it makes the challenge of doing right by myself even sweeter because I'm doing it on my own. Furthermore, it feels good to be able to motivate others. At least, I hope I motivate them instead of making them feel judged...

I thoroughly enjoyed Yoga from the Inside Out. It was written well; plainly enough to understand the meaning of the Sanskrit words. I really appreciated how honest and vulnerable Sell and her contributors were about their experiences with yoga and how it affected their lives. This book gave me a lot of insight about how yoga was originally intended, how it is marketed now, and how it's alright that many people use it in many different ways.