An inspirational testimonial from our dedicated yogi, Kathleen, on her 65th birthday:

-Today I turn 65. As birthdays go, it’s not an easy one. At 65, most of us have experienced a lot... some good.. some bad... some truly insignificant. And, let’s face it, we’re not young anymore. Our bodies are aging and life is changing. But I feel great!

At 58 I started yoga. Not any yoga but Bikram Yoga. I weighed at least 20 pounds more than what I do today, I had every menopausal symptom there is (hot flashes, sleeplessness, moodiness, you name it). I had back problems (bulging discs, Facets disease, sciatica), knee problems, high blood pressure, a malfunctioning thyroid, pvd in one leg and I was generally miserable. My doctors would say encouraging things like, “your knees are old, give them a break." Or, "why don’t we try this medication next?” Then I went to a Bikram class simply because someone dared to say it would probably be too hard for me. Damn if I’d let that one go! And it was hard. My belly got in the way with most positions. I had no balance. I could barely arch my back and have learned that I have been standing wrong most of my life!

But I continued to go and little by little, things improved. It’s still hard. Some days I don’t feel like being there but when I’m done it’s truly remarkable. I have much more energy than I did 10 years ago, I’m stronger and I’m more mentally alert. I know there are plenty of people my age who do yoga but it was life changing for me and I can now embrace getting older.... kind of! I encourage everyone to try it. The only obstacle is yourself.