Welcome, Yoga Doers and Doubters...

First, let me say this: I am a firm believer in the power and healing of a regular fitness program.

But I am also a firm believer in balance.

I am Kathleen Kelly Halverson, the mom of an energetic two-year-old. The wife of a hurricane researcher. An editor in the scholarly publishing field who loves her job and her company and her colleagues. Favorite aunt (or so I've been told) to three awesome nieces (the nephew doesn't talk yet, but I'll get him there). A closet poet/creative writer.

And yes, perhaps my biggest joy of all--a yoga teacher.

"FITNESS"

Yes, I've intentionally put the word in all caps. I see "fitness" everywhere. I see people practicing it, worshipping it, revering it. But what is "it"? What is "fitness," really? Is it just a fit body? Aren't the mind and the soul part of that mix, too? If they are not, then they should be!

I see people's definitions of "fitness" being in direct proportion to the level of sweat that exits their bodies during physical exercise. But what about the heightened level of mindfulness that we can introduce through regular practices (such as yoga and meditation) that incorporate a focus on breathing, stretching, releasing, and letting go? What about the ways that doing yoga "on the mat" translates to living our lives "off the mat"?

Are we really "fit"? Are we really "balanced"? Sometimes, the same end of the teeter-totter (I was taught to use this term over the more conventional "see-saw") seems to always be pushed down. Maybe we should try moving to the other end, even if just for a few minutes or moments per week.

What I'm not seeing enough of is an emphasis on the "more than that": An emphasis on not just those high-impact aerobics classes and those cardiovascular-intense workouts and those 5-mile runs (that are all SO IMPORTANT, don't get me wrong), but also the amazing value and "naturally prescriptive potential" of a mindful, peaceful yoga practice that helps us to quiet the mind and calm the body. Ideally, this would be paired with a regular meditation practice as well.

There is a direct connection between the physical body and that "other thing"--whatever you want to call it: your spiritual soul, your inner self, your clarity of mind, your being, your light. Inner peace can exist only through balance.

And through yoga, we find that balance. Thus, we find peace.

Or, at least, that's what I believe. And through this blog, I'm hoping to bundle, among other things, all the evidence I can find to prove it.