The Yoga Loft Storybook: Rhod Sharp

Why/When/Where did you start practicing yoga?
It would be the Fall of 2013 that I first came to The Yoga Loft. My dear friend Janet was practicing already and she told me about this Vito person who gave the most incredible classes. I don't think she had to keep on about him for too long for me to get the message. So, one Saturday morning I picked up the blue mat I got off the end of the aisle at Marshalls, put on some gym shorts and a teeshirt and that was that. I knew all about The Yoga Loft from the get-go because Randy and Laurel are friends, although it hadn't really crossed my mind that yoga would be my sort of thing. I was used to heaving things around in a gym, and had no real idea what to do with my body beyond push, pull, run, jump ... There's not much equipment needed either, which must have appealed to my innate Uncle Scrooge MacDuck. 

How has yoga changed/influenced your life?
For one thing, it's given me a different fitness routine that fits with my short but intense working week. It also fits the physical demands of a job in which I am seriously rooted to the spot for hours at a time. It has made me much more aware of the stresses that I put my body through. I now know that when I'm holding a pose, usually not a good one, that I can make adjustments. I've been gifted with a good constitution, and a robustness for which I am daily thankful, but it's a great thing to realize when my shoulders are up around my ears. I am also conscious if my weight is all on one side, and I can bring in the core muscles to fix at least the worst stuff (I know, I said "core") . I also credit yoga with making my golf stance actually work. I used to dance on the backswing and do a sort of jig on the follow-through, which is really not a good plan if you don't want to shank the ball horribly. In other words I would shank the ball horribly. Now I know what my feet and my knees and my hips and my shoulders are all doing, and I think it's a big deal (Please God, tell me that nobody I have actually played golf with is going to see this article).

What has been your experience practicing at The Yoga Loft?
I like the sociability, and I'm delighted to be surrounded by beautiful women. Of course I'm big on mindfulness -- really -- because I spend my winter Sundays with a bunch of kids exploring their own spirituality. One of the things we do is centering and clearing the mind until it can rest, and all of this is such an important part of our practice in yoga. I like the unpredictability of the yin and yang between balance and strength, and knowing that Vito is probably going to tell me to turn my heel out, and make a seemingly insignificant adjustment that's going to change everything. 

Anything else you wish to share about your yoga journey?
What's next? Can't wait.