My daughter C2 came up to me the other day and announced that for her P.E. class next semester, she has decided to take up YOGA!

When she was still a baby, she had frequent bouts with asthma. I remember her doctor putting her on all sorts of medicines that already began to alarm me as I was afraid of the long-term effects of medication. But thankfully, she has outgrown the frequent asthma episodes though she still has them, at a lesser degree, and less frequently.

Over summer, I enrolled her at Gold’s Gym nearby where there were yoga classes (taught by my teacher Pio). She was with me one time at the gym and watched as I went through my routine self-yoga. It intrigued her and she has so been wanting to meet my teacher too. But the yoga class was on a Saturday, 7:30 in the morning — an unholy hour for C2 as she was too tired from her study load from M-F.

A few weeks back, thinking of what to get her for her 18th bday this month, it hit me that maybe I should get her a yoga mat….not just any cheap mat but a good, imported one. PinoYoga happened to have a Scooby Doo purple mat (and purple is C2’s favorite color).

So C2’s announcement a few days ago that yoga was going to be her next PE class was an answered prayer for me of sorts. I am excited to have her take this up in the hopes it helps improve her lung strength and capacity. She is also excited to see if she could lose some unwanted inches and poundage. More importantly, I hope that this intro to yoga will somehow stretch into her future lifestyle so that it makes her aware early on of the importance of wellness and health while still young.