You would be wrong.

I am a self-proclaimed yoga hater.

As a group HIIT instructor, I love all things fast-paced, with loud music, and extra intensity.

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I really struggle with slowing down.

But there is a reason they call yoga a practice: It can take time to adjust.

Yoga isnt just about building physical fitness, its also about your mental strength.

Two young women practicing ballet with a teacher in the dance hall.

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(The poses themselves are really only one ofeight pillars of yoga.)

The rule was that I had to do four or five classes per week for one month.

I started my journey at my local CorePower Yoga, which offers athletic-based flows, often in heated studios.

Woman doing hip exercises

Oh yeah, did I mention I also hate being hot?

Im a Colorado girl, so heat is not in my blood.

I came out of the gate hard with their Yoga Sculpt class.

Cropped image of woman doing lunge yoga pose

This includes yoga, cardio, and strength moves that help boost your metabolism and build muscle.

Spoiler alert: I did not.

taking deep breaths until I could return to movement again.

Woman in leggings and bra doing Lunge with Arm Extended Up pose hip opener stretch during yoga session in morning at home.

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I decided that Sculpt probably wouldnt be my favorite.

The next class I attended was a C2.

The CorePower website describes C2 as a challenging vinyasa flow that involves more difficult postures.

Woman doing arm exercise without weights while sitting on mat at home.

What I found I enjoyed most were the postures where we balanced on one leg.

(Clearly, I am very competitive with myselfI am anenneagramthree, the achiever.

If you know, you know.)

A woman in sports clothes does yoga or gymnastics at home. Daylight. She smiles

I walked past a mirror and looked over and said, Damn, you look hot.

Was there any physical change at this point?

But the reflection I saw looking back at me in the mirror was mighty fine.

I saw a visual difference in my triceps, and I loved it.

My upper body is quite muscular, yet I have always struggled to get defined triceps.

Im bummed its been too cold to wear sleeveless shirts, because Im ready to put them on display.

I also noticed superior core strength.

Im not sure Isawmy abs, but I could definitely feel them.

For the rest of the month-long challenge, I vacillated between, When is this month over?

and Oh wow, I feel really great after this class.

There were days when the heat in the studio was just unbearable.

I always had my eye on the thermostat.

(There are those who love hot yoga, and the others are me.)

The answer is: not very.

The classes were good, but Im someone who needs to be part of a group to get motivated.

When I first committed to doing this challenge, I asked myself, Whhhhy?!

and took one of those deep audible sighs I love so much.

It felt like something I was adding to my already long list of things to do.

But by the time I was done, I found myself missing yoga a bit.

I never thought I would say that.

Doing yoga forced me to spend time with myself, and I found out Im pretty darn amazing.

I feel great and energized after HIIT, but not peaceful.

I now see the benefits of both forms of training.

Yoga is that counterpart activity for me.

Mostly it consists of me laying still on my couch for 10 minutes a day.

Its notsavasana, but its notnotsavasana.

I will go on the record and say, I am no longer a yoga hater.

I am now a yoga appreciator!

I love the peace I feel after each class, and my body can use the stretch as well.

Your body is going to change no matter what.

You have to be willing to open your mind.

Be willing to listen, and not say anything for a second.

Really just go inwards.

Thats what Im going to take away from this experience.

I will remember to take time to slow down to reconnect with myself.

The changes will always come, but they start from within.

Want to find your own peace through yoga?

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