Yoga, yoga, yoga

Search "yoga" on Google, and in 20 seconds or less, you'll come up with 103 million entries. To put that into a more classifiable figure, 103 million is the population of Mexico, the rough number of flu vaccine doses distributed throughout the U.S. in 2007, the amount Greg Norman's ex-wife won in their divorce settlement and the number of Internet users in China at the end of 2004. Lesson learned: there's a whole lot of stuff out there about yoga. And that Greg Norman needs a better lawyer the next time around.

But I digress.

Around since 900 B.C.E., yoga began for religious reasons. In Hinduism, yoga enriched the practitioner's spiritual journey by allowing for a higher state of consciousness to be achieved during meditation, bridging together the physical and metaphysical. Yoga, or something similar to it, can also be found in Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Islam and Catholicism. Now a days, yoga is used as a way to relax, be more attuned to one's body, regulate stress and increase flexibility. There are businesses using it for ergonomic seminars, magazines devoted to it, movies that mock or glorify it, and even shows like "Top Chef" have contestants who practice it.

One of the most appealing aspects to yoga is that it can be fit in at any point of the day, and can be practiced without a lot of expensive equipment. In essence, all you need is a mat. If you cannot afford to join a gym, find a class or know someone who can teach you the poses, there are sites like Yoga Journal, which have a wide range of poses, meditations and even vegetarian and vegan recipes to teach to and inspire you with.

Most everyone I know loves and adores yoga; E, in fact, is head over heels for it. Me? Not so much. I don't find it relaxing, nor do I find it all that stress relieving. Will I keep taking it?

Yes.

If, for nothing else, than it's a class that E and I can take together, and that added flexibility is never a bad thing.

And because Sabrina, my trainer, told me to.