Yoga can be both excruciatingly boring and incredibly enjoyable.

This doesn’t mean that yoga is a worthless discipline. It is a true discipline, one that requires effort, perseverance, and sometimes pain to find enjoyment. This is evident in the practice of asanas themselves. They are often uncomfortable, demanding balance, focus, relaxation, and muscle engagement, all while wearing a smile despite the sweat and tickles.

These experiences remind us that mastering the soul is intertwined with mastering the body, echoing the wise words of Aristotle, who claimed that the soul is the form or presence of the body. The satisfaction yoga offers, at least in its traditional form, is connected to spiritual growth and religious commitments, which may be beyond the reach of us agnostic Western millennials.

Nevertheless, what truly matters to us is what we make of our yoga practice. Through bending, folding, stretching, and challenging ourselves, we have realized that, as Epicurus and Sade once said, the greatest pleasures often stem from pain.