Ditch the stress, young grasshopper.

• Author: Kligerman, Nicole
• Position: Voices - Yoga

MERION, PENNSYLVANIA -- American teens are pushed into believing that if we fail to participate in every possible activity, we won't succeed in life or, worse yet, we won't get into Harvard. This has created a generation of exhausted, overachieving teenagers. Squeezed by endless soccer practices and Science Olympiads, we seldom have time to stop to smell the proverbial roses.

I used to believe that I had little chance of becoming a happy, productive person if my resume was not chock-full of activities. I spent years taking trombone and piano lessons, and art classes. I made many feeble attempts at throwing a basketball around a court. I finally realized I wasn't going to be the next Lisa Leslie of the WNBA. In fact, all I had to show for my work was a phobia of piano practice, a few unimpressive canvases, and a weak foul shot.

I set out to find what I could do purely for enjoyment. Surfing TV channels one day, I came across a program on yoga. I twisted and stretched along with the host and her blandly smiling students until I realized that I had found my passion.

My previous image of yoga was of Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid contorting the body of his disciple into pretzel-like shapes, bowing wisely, and saying, "I have taught you well, young grasshopper." Real yoga, an ancient practice that is part exercise, part stretching, and part meditation, turned out to be...