Check your pretensions at the door.

Humor writer Neal Pollack reluctantly tried a yoga class at his wife's behest: "She thought it would help with my weight and bad attitude." (He admits to being known for the 'tude.)

In his new book, Stretch: The Unlikely Making of a Yoga Dude, the funny man chronicles his journey from arrogant doubter to ego-free devotee. 

So where does an LA-based yogi with a cynical bent feel at om? Shakti Box in Los Feliz. "The teachers are really good and laid-back," he says of the donation-based studio where all levels and practices are welcome.

Since recently completing teacher training in Colorado (read about his nearly-aborted experience here), Pollack has also been assisting Shakti instructor Patty Pierce. Visit the studio's site for class times.

And so the student becomes the teacher. How very Zen.

Know someone who'd appreciate Pollack's unpretentious yoga approach? Send her (or him!) this story.