“I like a challenge. But more importantly, I like to see growth. When I first started practicing yoga, I was nowhere close to nailing this pose. Now I’m just getting to where I can get into it, and even hold it for an extended period of time. As long as I’m breathing, I have a chance to hold this pose and continue to grow in it.”
Scott spent countless hours in the gym before coming to his mat and really committing to staying there. “I’d use yoga as a way to stretch and decompress, but my primary workouts took place in a good old fashioned gym.”
Then COVID happened and gyms shut down. “I had a hard time at first. Yoga was just something I did once or maybe twice a week, but certainly not something I was fully committed to. Looking back, it’s no wonder that I’d get so frustrated about not being able to get into challenging poses. I wasn’t putting in the time or energy to truly learn what my body could do.”
Scott now consciously practices yoga 3-4 times a week, and has seen his practice grow in ways that continues to surprise him. “One of the things a lot of people overlook in yoga is what happens on the inside of you. It’s so much more than throwing your body into impressive shapes to look good for some social media post. It’s a real opportunity to learn about yourself. To learn what it’s like to experience your body and your breath in perfect harmony. It’s an incredible feeling to exhale and let go, and see what you are truly capable of. For me, yoga is about potential. It’s possibility. It’s an opportunity to tune into your own energy, and find out what you are truly made of.”
“I come to my mat to observe. To learn. To discover what it truly means to live an entire existence in one breath. Sound cheesy? I’m okay with that. My practice has taught me more about myself than a standard barbell lift ever could. It’s so much more than the physical.”
*Scott F. Evans is an actor and filmmaker in Los Angeles, CA