I go to the gym between two and four days a week. It depends on my mood and what am I doing. Very few people go to gym because they truly enjoy and love to work out. OK, my husband does, but he’s the exception. The rest of us go to the gym because it is healthy, or we like to get out of the house and talk to the people, or we just want to escape from daily problems.

I have to admit that most of the time I have to force myself to go to the gym. I would rather crash on the sofa and watch TV, or take a nap. So, I tell myself: “ Just get up and go, and once you are there, you will like it”. So true! After 20 minutes of forcing myself through the paces on the treadmill I feel a huge sense of accomplishment and that inspires me to do even more!

I usually do cardio exercise for one hour and work out with weights for thirty minutes. After a quick spell in the sauna and a dip in the Jacuzzi I feel like a completely new person! Life is wonderful! However, one thing about the gym is annoying me so much that I cannot keep it to myself any longer.

We have a lot of TV screens in our gum. Every treadmill has a TV; the weights area has few Tvs; there is even a TV in the changing room. It’s all good. I like to watch the news or something entertaining when I am working out! It what OTHER people watch that has me upset. I noticed that most of the people are watching cooking channels! This is CRAZZZY! When I see it my stomach starts grumbling. It boosts my appetite even if I am not hungry. I just want to quit, run out of gym to the nearest café and order a big fatty steak or plate of meat loaf.

Can somebody tell me what is wrong with all these people? Why do they do that? Are they CRAZZZY??!!

I had just gotten back on my feet after having my third child, and really, really wanted to get back in shape. When I was handed the flyer for local yoga classes, hosted by the YWCA,  I thought, “Why not?”

I figured I could surely handle some ‘easy yoga’, and maybe I could get toned up in time for the big family reunion we had at the beach every year. I signed up for twice weekly yoga workouts on the spot.

It turns out that you have to have a lot of physical balance to practice yoga. Physical balance doesn’t exactly describe me. It would be kind to merely say I have two left feet; in reality, it’s like I have two left sides.

I don’t remember how many times I picked myself up off the floor, cheeks burning, in that first class. I kept expecting somebody to laugh, but no-one did. By the time class was over, I was sore from head to toe and had a new respect for so called ‘relaxing’ yoga. Stubborn, I vowed to see the month out.

After four weeks of lessons, I was beginning to enjoy myself. I was sorry to see the class end, but the instructor told me they had an advanced class at the fitness health club not far from my home. That clinched it. I was officially a yoga nut!

Now I get up each morning before anyone else is awake, and jog down six blocks for my morning yoga classes. I enjoy the quiet discipline, and the companionship I get from my fellow practitioners! We meet on weekends at the park in nice weather, and practice to the sounds of nature.

At home, I use yoga to center myself when I am about to lose it. It’s my own personal version of counting to ten. As I close my eyes, arms spreading and one leg bending at the knee, my kids know it’s time to shape up.

“Watch out! She’s doing the crane again!”