The Power of Yoga (Sort of…)
My history with yoga: hate.
I actually have nothing against yoga! Or people who dedicate themselves to it. Whenever I tried it, though, it was never right for me. And the more people encouraged me to do it, the more I resisted until it became a thing. I will never do yoga.
Until I read about a character who practiced yoga. Over the years, I’ve read about a lot of characters who practiced yoga, but this one impacted me in a different way. The character, a man with a high profile, stressful job kept his yoga private—not because he was ashamed of it but because he wanted something that was his alone to help centre himself.
It got me thinking about my own attitude toward yoga. If I was going to do anything physical, it was going to be cardio. No point in exercise if it wasn’t sweat-filled treadmill time. Yoga, obviously couldn’t compete. But then this character reminded me of its true purpose: strength, balance, flexibility, meditation—it wasn’t supposed to compete with a run.
I’m encouraged to try yoga again. I may or may not like it, but that’s not my point. My point is how one character, in one book changed my perspective.
That’s the power you have as a writer. You never know when your one character in your one book may have a positive influence on a reader.
So keep writing! People like me, whose minds have been closed, we need you to help us open them.