The Power of Yoga
Yoga Odyssey received this wonderful testimonial from one of our students; Frank found that yoga has helped him both physically and mentally since he’s started practicing regularly! — Zachy
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Hi Zachy,
I was introduced to yoga over a decade ago. I was nearing the end of a 10 year run of working 60 to 80 hours a week as a therapist/teacher/professor and was open to new ways of exercising and reducing injury risk. I was an occasional student, 1-2x a month. Sometimes at a treatment program I ran, sometimes at my local gym.
Work reduced but life got busier. More travel. I deployed to Poland in 2019 and then I returned and COVID hit two months later. There was no yoga at all for several years.
My father died in the fall of 2021 while we were snorkeling in Belize. I returned in February of 2022 to collect his ashes. I had a bunch of days on an island without much to do and I found a yoga studio that I could go to every morning. And I realized that this was something that would (a) be a good form of exercise, (b) help reduce injuries in my now middle age body, (c) help with stress relief from my work as a therapist who specializes in addiction, grief, trauma and suicide, and (d) improve my endurance and flexibility for my increasingly longer, more complex and more dangerous hikes around the world.
For the next six months, I checked out different studios. None properly satisfied me. In September, I signed up for a one month new student pass at Yoga Odyssey. I went to classes at 9 am, noon, 6 pm and 730. And early on the weekends. I averaged anywhere from 3 to 5 classes a week that month.
In early November, I traveled to Arizona to hike the Grand Canyon Rim to rim to rim over a couple of days. The fist day I hiked 31 miles, which was rim to rim and then back to the bottom for camping under the stars. It was obvious to me and my closest hiking buddy that yoga had made me a faster and stronger hiker. And also...I was almost never sore in the morning after a long hike anymore. Or several days of hiking in a row.
Anyway, I've kept up with Yoga Odyssey. There are a few teachers that I try to take as much as possible, but even the ones that I see once or twice a month give me what I need on any given day.
My work is very heavy. It's a great way to break up or end my day. I can't really think about the three divorcing couples and their nightmare fights when I'm trying to do a one legged pose in a 95 degree room.
Right after New Year's, I climbed the highest mountain in Costa Rica. Over 12000 feet tall and a total single day of 27 miles. Later in January, I finished my Winter 46 in the Adirondacks with five very long, very high elevation hikes in difficult winter conditions.
With both work and hiking, yoga odyssey has improved my performance.
In mid-February, I traveled to Patagonia at the southern end of the world for three weeks. I did some work while down there, but I ended up hiking for 9 long to very long days. It was brilliant.
When I'm not traveling for work or baseball or hiking, I can usually be found at Yoga Odyssey a few nights a week. Reducing my stress, improving my flexibility, and lowering my injury risks. I'm a different kind of yogi. A max effort, give loud affirmative answers, looking for a teacher to play Metallica and Cypress Hill just one time type of guy.
Cheryl played Biggie Smalls last month, which was pretty cool.
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Frank L Greenagel II
