"Everything was going wrong" Hollis says to me one Sunday over brunch. "I mean, nothing was going right. I was stressed out, tired, my body felt bad, my mind just every aspect of my life felt like it was going in the wrong direction."
These words sounded so familiar which is why I was so happy that Hollis had been nominated by some fellow yogis to be this months S.O.M. (Student of the month) at YogaSole. The fact that her story began with the strain she felt on her own life during a period of time made me open to hearing more.
"I had done yoga a few times but I wasn't really serious about it." The food came to the table and Hollis seemed to go far back into her mind to the place she stood so many years ago. "So, I spoke to Evalena" she continued. "I said the same thing to her that I'm telling you now. I said 'Evalena I'm unhappy' and she asked me what I was unhappy about and I told her. I think I ran down a list of like fifteen things until I was tired of complaining. Then Evalena just looked at me and said 'oh yeah, well, I'm sure yoga will take care of that'. You know something? Once I committed myself to a practice...it did. It really changed everything."
I thought about this for a while. Commitment is a big word for some people. The most interesting part of yoga is that it is unique because it is a commitment to ones inner and outer being. Yoga is about saying "everything is wrong and that's o.k. I'm beginning here, right where I am". I had forgotten that about yoga until Hollis reminded me.
Because her story seems so relevant, I probed her for more information. "I had been sick. I had an operation and I felt my whole body change after that," she added. "I just didn't feel the same and after I had the conversation with Evalena I started going to the studio more. I used to complain when I started. I would be sweating and tired and I would moan and grunt. Just the other day in Merav's class she turned to me and said 'Hollis, I hardly notice you're here anymore...no more noises'. I laughed because I remember those times where I felt like I couldn't do it, but I stayed with it in the moment. When I kept up my practice everything in my life began to change for the better. I was more open and positive. I was so happy all the time people thought I was going crazy. I used to start whistling and saying how great everything was."
I see Hollis frequently in the mornings at the yoga studio and like all of YogaSoles students her light is visible and it rubs off on others. You can't help but smile when you're surrounded by so much light. "You know," Hollis says when the check comes to the table, "Yoga really changed me, but it didn't just change me, it changed my whole life. It helps, it saves and it conquers."
Hollis hopes her story will help get most of us in the room. Many of our challenges are about showing up. Hollis is so happy she decided to show up to the studio during such a crucial transformative time in her life.
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