Focus

My job is relatively easy to do once I achieve the proper focus, which is like saying that weight-lifting is easy after you practice it for decades.

Focus depends on how many distractions I have and how much energy I have.  It is very hard to exclude distractions when I'm around others; I do best with that in my office alone.

The energy depends partly on sleep but more so on locus of control; when I feel as if others determine my schedule my energy and initiative seep away.

Returning to Yoga

I started yoga classes in graduate school to get out among people. I was past most of my classwork, my part-time job was isolating, and my apartment was echoing when I was alone there.

I took to it very quickly, not so much aptitude as enjoyment with developing more of an awareness of my body and its strengths and weaknesses. I also found that it helped calm my mind, which given the great emptiness I faced with looking for a career after graduate school really helped.

I kept it up until our kids were born, and then life got too hectic. This past Fall though I realized that I had no more rationalization to stay away and have started attending classes again weekly.

My body is different; I am older and heavier. Some things are more of a struggle than I had hoped but by and large it's been very good for the same reasons it was very good when I began.