When you hear the word “yoga”, what kind of image do you conjure up in your mind? Do you picture a pretty, young, flexible woman doing a handstand or contorting into some impossible shape? Maybe you envision a yogi “JUST sitting and breathing”- so boring, right?
Looking back at the other styles of exercise I’ve tried over the years, I always wonder what about yoga made me stick with it. Like most people, I got into yoga for physical reasons— to get lean, lose weight, and align with something similar to my dance background. Little did I know, yoga would become so much more than a physical workout.
As I practiced and taught more, I developed an awareness of the spiritual and emotional benefits yoga provided. Yes, my physical body was more at ease; but the chatter in my mind had hushed, and more importantly, I took several lessons off the mat and with me into my life. I truly looked forward to that hour on the mat with no phone, no work, no responsibilities. That feeling was like nothing I had experienced in going to the gym, where I wasn’t allotted the time, space, or silence to think about what my body was doing or where my mind wandered when things got challenging or boring.
Yoga is so much more than the asanas (physical postures). Yoga encompasses meditation- the act of sitting in silence and simply observing one’s thoughts in order to create a new narrative. Yoga means finding movement that feels natural and safe yet challenging in one’s body. Yoga is synonymous with being kind to one’s self both on and off the mat. Yoga also means learning to breathe. REALLY breathe. The kind of deep-felt breath that changes your mood or the tension in your body. The kind of breath that allows you to pause and think before reacting. Yoga teaches mindfulness— that acute awareness of what we do and say, how we move our bodies, learning to be intuitive and in touch with our true needs and desires, and everything else in between. Yoga joins body, breath, mind, heart, and soul in a way few things in this world can. Yoga invites a deeper connection to self so we can feel more connected to others as well.
Yoga taught me so much more than physical poses and that’s why I’m so passionate about practicing it and sharing it with others. Maybe your yoga journey starts like mine— focused on the physical. But I guarantee if you stick with it and stay open-minded, you have so much more to learn and grow from.
Namaste