The Modern Hoyden

Some of you may know that I've been participating in a introductory one month unlimited yoga period at Junction 9 Yoga & Pilates. It's a great studio. It's clean and beautiful. They do classes on the roof and the lockers are free. I do not have a single complaint about it, although, this is my blog, so you know that I have a complaint about something .  I did a lot of yoga and body weight exercise when I was in theatre school, and have kept up periodically since. Mostly at home on my own. But as I have recently become way older than I was seven years ago, I decided I needed more structure in order to stay healthy, connected to my body, and work off some of the beer I consume, etc. I was beyond intimidated to start a formal "practice" for many reasons. I was worried that I wasn't thin enough, or strong enough or committed enough to dedicate myself to this journey. I was also concerned about judgement from the type of people I imagined would attend c...

I want to preface this entire post by saying that this is an expression of my personal experience, and I do not presume to speak for anyone else. I also do not dare to compare my annoyance with actual racism that persons of colour experience everyday. I just need to get this off my chest: Don't ask me where I'm from. There. I've said it. Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, stop asking me where I'm from. For a long time, I've struggled with this interaction. I continually have minimized my own discomfort for the benefit of not offending other people, but guess what? The more this happens, the more offended I get. At 26 years old, I get this question so often and in so many different ways, that I feel compelled to write an entire blog post about it. So, I swear, if anyone tells me I'm being too sensitive, they can go suck a whole dick. I mean it. To be fair, it isn't always "So, where are you from?" Just for the sake of clarity, h...