This week, I've been waking up with my friend Cara to do yoga to begin our day. I'm no pro and sometimes I really want to sleep in, but I really love yoga. I've been practicing by myself and have just recently begun this ritual of waking up to start my day with yoga and a friend.
Not only does this practice help me get my lazy butt out of bed every morning, it makes me feel more alive. I know some of you are thinking "I hate yoga! It's so boring!" but to tell you the truth, well, my truth, I don't exactly do yoga to excite my every cell.
I practice yoga to soothe and calm my body, soul, and mind.
You know that feeling of having so much to do that you can't focus on anything?
Or how about that feeling you get about mid way through the day
where you can barely hold your head up?
Or when you get so frustrated about something going on in your life that it's all you can think about?
When I practice yoga, I'm not focused on what I'm making for dinner, or what I need to do when I get to the office, or the fight I just had with a friend. I'm focusing on my breathing and trying to strengthen each of my poses. I'm focused on the calming music that I play from my iPad, and trying to clear my mind. It's not always easy. I don't always have a clear mind. But that is my goal.
Yoga releases stress, tension, stiffness, pain, and fatigue.
It makes me stand up straighter, sit tall, and hold my head high.
It makes me feel focused, and happy.
It rids me of anxiety, and it's one of the few things that actually can.
It gives me confidence.
It makes me more aware of my body and my connection with my body, and when I practice yoga outside, my connection to nature.
If you're competitive, you may not think yoga is right for you. Well, you may be right. But yoga is is a practice, which means that you are practicing every time, not that you are performing or exercising (though it is). You try to obtain your personal best.
So, if you're going to start, start slow. I can't stress this enough. You can get hurt if you try to advance before you're ready, or if you don't do a pose correctly.
Listen to your body! Yoga is not supposed to be painful!
Know your own limits [advice not just for yoga, but maybe even for life!]
Yoga has been healing bodies, spirits, and minds for over 5,000 years! Its one of the oldest practices in the world. Some studies have even shown that people who practice yoga in groups emit oxytocin, know as the trust and bonding hormone. Here's some yoga lingo, just for you
[when will you ever need these? who knows?! Maybe one day you'll be on jeopardy and you'll be able to tell Alex Trebek "What is *insert yoga term here*?"]:
yogini: a female who avidly practices yoga and subscribes to the lifestyle and philosophy of yoga
asanas: the poses that you move in and out of while practicing yoga. Ex. downward facing dog, tree pose, cat stretch.
power yoga or ashtanga: also called "gym yoga"is a form of yoga that it a little more rigorous than what you might think of as yoga. It's meant to get your blood pumping
lyengar: yoga using things like block, bricks, and straps to work on precise poses
meditation: I'm sure you know what this means but some people think that if they are Christians, meditation is sacreligious. But i'm here to tell you that you can meditate on anything! Direct your meditation towards your Lord, be that Jesus, or Buddha, or Allah. Or if you're irreligious, meditate on the blessings you've received in your life, meditate on finding a release of your soul. Just meditate on something. You'll feel better.
mantra: another word you know! I find it helpful to have a mantra or some kind, something you repeat to yourself over and over as you practice yoga, so that you're focused on saying your mantra and breathing and actually doing yoga and not what you need to pick up at the grocery store later. I usually say something like "Breath, Taylor", just so I don't forget. But you can say whatever you want! You can say "I am powerful and beautiful". You can say "I was born this way!". You can say "All good things come from above". Say whatever you want! Whatever makes you happy, inspired, focused, anything! Make your mantra yours.
So try it! you're not too old, or too stiff. There's no such thing!
Again, it's a practice. You are not "good" or "bad" at yoga.
You don't have to go to a class. You can buy a video and a mat and do it at home where no one can see. You can do it with a friend who doesn't care if you look stupid. Or you can go to a class! There's a yoga class in just about every town, at the YMCA or local gym.
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