Finding Friends at Yoga
Terry Flaig shares how she’s gained much more than strength and flexibility at her local yoga studio, Soul Society.
“There are no strangers here, only friends you haven’t met yet.”
~ William Butler Yeats
Soul Society Yoga monthly family member since March 2020
Classes taken at Soul Society: 261 (and counting)
Favorite SSY class: Vinyasa
Fierce pose: Crow Pose and Warrior II
Spirit pose: Wild Thing
Shortly after moving to the Eastern Shore from Howard County, Md., in 2020, Terry Flaig found friends in an unexpected place—the new yoga studio she discovered while driving around.
Now, making friends at a yoga studio may not seem that strange to some people, but to Terry, who had been taking classes regularly at a studio in Howard County for over a year and only made one friend, it was a pleasant surprise.
“I was doing yoga the same 6 a.m. class four times a week and really never met anyone new there. People were in their silos. They would come and do their practice and then leave. Here, at Soul Society, there’s always a smiling face to greet you. I’ve met so many people. It’s a much more warm environment,” she explains.
Terry’s has been a runner for 25 years. She’s coached field hockey and lacrosse, lifted weights, and tried Orange Theory. But she got to a point, she says, where lifting weights wasn’t enjoyable anymore; “My body needed a change.”
She decided yoga would be her new form of mental and physical activity in addition to running. “Now that I do yoga, I enjoy running more then when I was doing strength training. Running is more peaceful now, maybe because of the mindset after doing yoga,” she says.
She adds that yoga has helped improve her running both physically and mentally. “I certainly think that yoga has improved my breathing technique when I’m running,” she says. “As crazy as it sounds, when I’m here in yoga and I can let my mind release, I’ve carried that over to running as well. I can run without a lot of self-talk.” Yoga has improved her balance and posture, too.
Terry runs and practices yoga at Soul Society about four times a week each; sometimes she does both in one day. She’s also taken advantage of Soul Society’s virtual classes while on vacation.
Her favorite style of yoga is warm vinyasa, which she enjoys for the flowing movements, focus on breath, cardio exercise, balance, and deep stretching. And the heat? “I embrace it,” she says.
“[Yoga] is definitely worth a try. And if you do decide to try, do not compare yourself to anyone else. Everyone has a starting point, and you do what fits you, which is what I love about it.
What does she love most about Soul Society Yoga? “Sometimes in life you find a spot. You feel welcome and it’s comfortable; you want to keep going and you feel supported. That’s how I feel here.”
