Cost is Different than Worth

I often find myself defending purchases made, whether it be to my Mom asking where I got something or to a friend asking how much something cost. But they fail to grasp what Steve Jobs talked about during his time at Apple. Cost is different than worth.

The cost of an iPad starts at $499. That's a lot of money, it's well over $500 when you add tax in, and for some people the cost is not worth it. But what about for others? What about for someone whose child has a learning disability? The iPad was one of the few pieces of technology in our age that gave families who have children with autism, aspergers, Down Syndrome and a few other disabilities a way to communicate with the world. Can you put a price on peace of mind? What about access? There have been several tablets that came into the market after the iPad but few offer the design and ease of use the iPad has. No one can compare to the App Store the iPad has. So the worth of the iPad depends greatly on how you're going to use it.

The same goes for any aspect of your life. My yoga mat is by Manduka. It's an amazing mat, the Black Mat PRO Limited Edition Black Sage. It's absolutely gorgeous, comes with a LIFETIME GUARANTEE and is the Maybach of Yoga Mats. But when friends heard how much I spent on it, they could not help but throw their two cents in. $100 for a yoga mat? I was declared mentally unstable. But the cost of the mat may be higher than what most who do not practice yoga would consider fair, the reality is it's not. The average mat is about $20 - $30. I've had one mat I got for $20 for a month before it cracked. Yoga isn't a fad, it isn't just a workout. It's 60 minutes that I get to give to myself, my future, my health and get out of my head and into my body.

So what is it worth? Well with a Lifetime Guarantee, thickness to stand on my head (when I get there), and the cost of other yoga mats, the worth far outweighs the cost. I've never understood when people buy a lesser quality product and then complain about it. You get what you pay for when you go cheap. But sometimes, you get more than what you pay for when you find a product whose cost is trivial compared to its worth. And what a product is worth, differs with each person.

So the fact that I have one Manduka Black Mat PRO, two eQua mat towels and one hand towel may look like a waste of money to somebody else, but for me it's an investment. A reminder to practice yoga, to get my dollar out of every item I purchase. Besides, it's more fun to stick to a lifestyle change when you find what motivates you.

Yoga Controversy

There's been some fun news in the yoga world lately. The other day the New York Times published a piece talking about how yoga can wreck your body. The tales were quite scary but most of us with common sense shook our heads and thought, but the examples the writer used showed people going against everything yoga is supposed to be about when they get injured. Today, another piece was released to counter the controversial piece and it provided a much more logical point of view.

The New York Times did raise some valid points, there are positions that are dangerous, some may be risky to teach in a beginning class. The person practicing yoga needs to listen to their body, which is discussed with any yoga class you ever take. That each person needs to practice yoga at their pace, with thier strengths and injuries in mind, any ego should be checked at the door. But isn't this common knowledge? Well what can be considered common knowledge in an age of warning labels on coffee to avoid getting sued? So while there may be warnings against yoga, as with any physical activity it is best to consult with your doctor before starting.

And even though I know this is a ways away for me, it inspires me to keep practicing.

Yoga by Equinox

Free Yoga :)

Align Pilates has kicked off a new and improved yoga program at their cute studio. And to help you get ready for all things Pilates and Yoga, they're offering free yoga classes from January 16-22. The catch is if you sign up but forget to cancel 24  hours prior to the class you'll get charged the full price for the class.

To sign up for the class click here. To find out more about the staff at Align Pilates click here.

And as always, remember Align offers a great deal called 'Save Your Buck Sundays' where instructors going through Align's Pilates Teacher Training teach the classes. Mat class is $5, Reformer and Barre classes are $10.

Practicing Yoga

Every class my yoga instructor starts with an intention for the class and for the day. Today I had Ryann and she is fabulous. She told us that it always surprises her when she tells people she's going to yoga and they tell her to have a good workout. What surprises me is people tell me to have fun stretching, if they only knew. The funny thing about yoga is that there are physical benefits to the practice. The building of stability muscles, the loss of weight, flexibility etc. But yoga isn't about achieving weight loss or lean muscles; those are simply by products for what the yogi is trying to achieve. What yoga focuses on is grace, patience, mindfulness and concentration. We aim for grace and practice it through dancer's pose which forces us to use stabilizing muscles, our core, etc. The benefits to yoga are what most people who are new or who are unfamiliar with yoga think of and what they associate with yoga. But once the practice begins it becomes about calming the mind, even getting out of one's mind and into one's body; it's about finding what's important in life, living in the moment and learning about oneself.

I practice yoga four times a week and I do it because I am trying to find my patience, I'm striving to be graceful,  and I need to let the pressures of the day fall away. I leave it all on my mat and yes, since starting on November 8th I've gone down a pant size and a bra size; I have built muscles I never knew existed and I love that as well. But the real joy of yoga is going and every time getting deeper in my practice. I may not get better every day because every day has a different challenge, but every day I become more connected with myself, with the present and with my intentions.

That's what yoga has done for me. That's why I tweet about it, why I wake up at ungodly hours to squeeze a class in and why I find myself doing more laundry than I ever thought was possible. Because who I am becoming and the lessons I am learning through those sixty minutes is worth every (expensive) penny to me.