When I got the green light from my doctor a few months ago to ease slowly back into exercise, taking classes with certified professional-level Kripalu Yoga teacher Gary Halperin in his beginner yoga class was the first thing I did — and am still doing … .

Boomerang demonstrates the Back-Sprawled, Paws Akimbo Cat Pose.

As a little gift for readers of this blog, throughout the rest of December, new visitors to any of Gary’s classes pay only $5 for the first class visit — if you mention MC Reality Online when you sign up or show up. This is a great way to try out yoga — especially with Gary who has a fantastic reputation in Sarasota; and it’s also a great way to give yourself a treat during the month of December, which can way too often feel way too harried and hurried.

Classes are normally $12 each, and he offers day and evening classes Monday mornings and Tuesday and Thursday nights — centrally located and easy to get to, at the corner of Tuttle and Ringling. You can contact Gary to sign up for a class, or visit www.feelbetternowyoga.com to learn more. Read more about Halperin in this magazine article — Being Here Now. In the classes I’ve been taking, there are men and women — all ages.

I’m way too often an all-work, no play/no relax kind of gal, but Gary’s classes are teaching me (despite the fact that I’m a slow learner), that I can make and take the time — in fact I deserve to do it — in my life to feel mentally more clear, emotionally more satisfied, psychologically more calm, and physically more comfortable. I find that by doing the simple yoga stretches and poses, combined with the act of just “being here now” in class and listening to my body and being aware of how it feels — has reaped rewards not just physically, but personally and professionally.

I have more energy, more clarity, and more energy throughout my work days in general, even on the days that I’m not taking his class. And more importantly — I’ve been sleeping dramatically better since I started the yoga earlier this fall.

But one of my favorite parts of the class is simply listening to the calm, focused, nonjudgmental “instruction” from Gary. In a way that’s almost uncanny, at the very moments in class where I feel most challenged or conflicted about being there (because I feel I should be working or doing something on my “to-do” list) or even when I’m just feeling insecure about how my body looks while holding some “let it all hang out” pose — Gary inevitably speaks to the class in a way that seems to address precisely what’s going on in my head. And he brings me back to what matters. Just being and accepting the “here” — right where I am at that moment — right now.

It’s a valuable lesson for the rest of my life outside of yoga.