Review of Sol Yoga Studio in Conshohocken, PA
“I came to Sol Yoga Studio an exceedingly rigid person. I came into the studio with an idea of who I was and where I was going. I thought I had it all figured out at the young age of 21. I’ve worked my behind off to put myself in a position where I would “succeed”. I have been wed to the idea that my plan was the only way to success and was ready to travel that route, regardless of other sacrifices that would need to be made. Since coming to Sol, it becomes clearer and clearer that I may not want this insanely inflexible route that I’ve mapped for myself. This is exponentially uncomfortable; nevertheless, this is absolutely wonderful. I’ve been telling those around me that I think that yoga is changing me, in conjunction with several other variables in my life. Yoga has aided in the development of a clear head and has significantly reduced my angst. On my mat, I am raw and real, and I have space. My head isn’t flooded with all that I want to do and need to do. This space is beginning to slowly trickle off the mat and into my life. I have room to breathe throughout my day. I think before I respond. I stretch & pray before I start my day. I have a minute to pay closer attention to what I want and value. The more that I have the ability to meditate on my values, the more I begin to cognitively deviate from what I thought I’d be, and have begun to acquire intuition. I am tuning into what I want and becoming apart of my very own life. This keen awareness is spreading its tendrils to most realms of my life. The newfound ambiguity that yoga has created is uncomfortable and beautiful. They are not mutually exclusive. No need to rid the former to gain the latter. I have space. I have clarity. I feel more apart of life and that has been long overdue. Furthermore, yoga has not only helped me develop a greater sense of awareness, but also a new perspective on some of life’s challenges. On good days, it is fairly simple to remain determined, thank the person who held the door for you, refrain from giving the finger to the person who cut you off, to see the silver-lining, and be fortune-cookie-esque, if you will. On the days where you are spilling coffee on your button-up, late for work, and are confronted with some of your biggest demons, one is far more prone to being a burnt cookie and all about black-lining. In life, there are not always perceptible moments of revelation, or these large and blinding, holy miracles to keep you upbeat. Life is abundant with small, subtle victories. The process of life is, at times, not the most picturesque. Nevertheless, yoga has recently helped to refashion my, sometimes, burnt-cookie perspective. After a few short weeks of doing yoga, I was able to accept that the victories were pixels; a smaller part of a larger picture. The larger picture being a life; a life that provides room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy, for edification, for actualization; a life how it is meant to be experienced – in its totality. And the other day when I was frustrated with the coffee stain, angry with the driver in the other car, in need of a blinding miracle, tired of the pixels, fed up with the small subtle victories – I was able to find space to be grateful for the victories, grateful for the larger picture, grateful for life. I had space to step back, take a deep breath, and find gratitude. I can say, with confidence, that that would not have happened if yoga was not apart of my life. Yoga has truly served as the conduit to deliver these gifts of space, clarity, and gratitude to me.”
~Alyssa Matteucci, 2013-07-02
