Ever had this thought?

I was teaching recently and a woman and I got into a conversation about the culture around exercise. She shared that - before she found yoga - she would often leave the strenuous group fitness classes she attended feeling like:

“Why did I just put myself through that?”

She felt dejected and her self esteem felt low. I’ve had experiences that made it easy to relate to this, perhaps it’s the same for you. Have you ever had thoughts like this after or during a physical movement practice? 

She then shared that when she found yoga it was the first practice where she actually felt better about herself when she was done. 

The root of why she may have felt that way may have something to do with the fact that yoga is not really exercise (at least that’s not all of it), it means union. 

Yoga is an ancient system for connecting mind, body and spirit to something greater and more meaningful beyond “the small me” self. The shapes we make with our bodies comprise only one eighth of what yoga is. The other seven eighths include meditation, breathwork, inward focus and more. 

When we experience a really great yoga class it may be because the teacher is working with physical and nonphysical elements of the practice. It may be that she is aware of how to link breath to movement to create those meditative, inward-focused states. These are my favorite classes because they allow me to connect my practice on the mat to all of the practices off the mat.

One of my favorite benefits of yoga is the quieting of my egoic mind (or the chatter that’s nearly constantly running in the background for most of us). There are countless physiological and energetic benefits of yoga and yoga is free to learn and learn about on youtube or from the library. You can start by practicing three conscious, deep breaths.  

If you’d like a guide, I would love to be that guide for you. I teach weekly group classes to get your feet wet or you may take advantage of a private session if you’d like a smaller, more intimate learning environment. View all offerings by clicking here. 

I thank you for your time and your willingness to go deeper into your practice. When you join my email newsletter list you’ll gain access to a free yin yoga class recording. Join the list here and you’ll receive a code to access the class recording and more “freemium” content. 

I hope you enjoy!

Leave a comment below: 

Have you tried yoga? What has your experience been?   

Photo credit: Auraginal Photography