I'll admit it. I was first drawn to yoga for the clothes. They are all stretchy, cottony and soft. They reminded me of the onesies I'd dress my babies in after a warm bath many years ago.

But I really chose yoga for two reasons: First, my body needed a break. I was tired of achy muscles and bruises from tae kwon do. Second, my friend Laura raved about yoga's effects, and her long, lean body proved the point.

I spent most of my first class looking down at the mat, my body inverted in what was termed "down dog" position. I stifled a laugh when we rolled into "happy baby" and "child's" position. Were these names for real?

After years of pushing my body to the limits by running in the Texas summer heat, enduring hours of marathon training, and sparring in tae kwon do, here I was, lying on my back, rolling side to side on the floor, knees bent, fingers curled around my toes ... and calling it exercise!

I confess. I didn't quite get it. There had to be something about this practice that drew millions of people worldwide, and I wanted to find out.

Then, some of the most beautiful words I've ever heard were spoken by the instructor: "Now, find a comfortable position, and we'll move into meditation." I had never meditated before, not truly.

I grew up bowing my head and praying during church. I have tried different kinds of spiritual stillness as I moved through life. But I found meditation was different. No one led me through it or told me what to think or say. No one even talked.

It was just me and my mind, quiet and, in spite of a room full of people, alone.

Over the next few months, I began to understand the whole picture. The entire hour of yoga, moving the body through different states of stretching and strengthening, is preparation for the meditation performed at the end. It combines both spiritual and physical, and balances the body completely in a yin/yang sort of way.

You twist to one side – you better believe you'll then twist to the other. I liked the expectancy.

Slowly, I began to see the effects, not only in my body, but also in my mind. Feelings I'd been keeping down came up, and often tears leaked down the sides of my face. I didn't mind, though. Everyone else had their eyes closed, and I'm sure the instructor was used to such.

It was during meditation that I knew it was time to let go of some things in my life that were unhealthy. It was during yoga that I learned the universe is limitless. The exciting thing about it was that I was directing the journey, revealing my own truths.

I'm not sure the Hindus of northern India who developed the practice 5,000 years ago wore stretchy pants. But what I do know is how thankful I am that they, too, saw the need to unite the most important parts of self into one meditative practice.

Jennifer McAloon of McKinney is a dental hygiene instructor at Collin College's Central Park campus and a Community Voices volunteer columnist. Her e-mail is jmcaloon@sbcglobal.net.