Before I started practicing yoga l had only untrue thoughts and feelings towards it. I believed that you had to be flexible to do yoga, you had to have a lot of time on your hands and you had to be rich and live in LA. It seemed like an activity that rich people would indulge in every now and then. Of course, I couldn’t be more wrong about the whole idea of yoga and why people practice it.
Why did I start practicing yoga?
Before 2018 started I had hit what you would call rock bottom for me at that stage in my life. I had failed to get the grades I needed to get into university and currently had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Before that event, I wasn’t genuinely happy, so everything just came crashing down on me. One day, on one of my mindless scrolls through my YouTube homepage I came across a video from about someone going through rejection from her dream university and it brought me peace. Not because I was happy that someone else’s dreams had been crushed just like mine but because of her attitude towards the rejection. She cried in this video but at the end said that she knew she would be okay because everything is happening as it should be and that stuck with me. So, I started watching other of her videos and in one of them she talked about her morning routine and mentioned yoga and because I saw how “perfect” her life appeared on camera I decided to try yoga out. When I told my family that I wanted to start doing yoga they laughed at me because they knew I could never stick to a routine. So, in the living room on the centre rug, I started my yoga journey. This same youtuber also introduced me to the law of attraction but that’s for another article.
What is yoga and why do I think it is beneficial?
I believe that a lot of people before starting their yoga practice have a wrong idea of what yoga is. Yoga, in Sanskrit, means to know oneself completely and being at peace with oneself. Yoga has brought me so much peace and comfort in my life. No matter how bad or good I feel before hitting the mat for a practice, I always leave the mat feeling better. The tools of yoga allow us to flow through life with harmony, clarity and knowledge of our connectedness to all that there is. As my yoga teacher would always say “how you move on the mat reflects how you move off the mat”. Finding time in your day to create an environment where you can marry your breath with your movement (another great saying from my yoga teacher) allows you to be more mindful and allows you to give your thinking mind a break. My yoga teacher – Yoga with Adriene online on YouTube is concerned with the mantra of finding what feels good. This simply means that it is not about the poses of yoga but how you breathe and feel as you move in and out of these poses. It’s about honouring your body where it’s at and accepting it for it. Yoga has helped me love my body more and increase my self-love and confidence. Before I started yoga, I had the flexibility of a stick but with constant practice I can gladly say that my flexibility has increased and when I cannot manage to get into some poses I treat my body with love and try not to allow toxic thoughts to get in. I acknowledge it and say thank you and this in turn helps me to be kinder to myself and to others off the mat. Being mindful and present on the mat allows me to be mindful and present off the mat and believe it or not, yoga helps to raise your vibrations and will help you manifest better. Yoga is also great for the physical body and can help you be fitter and feel better about your body while taking a kind and loving approach. Yoga helps to balance out chakras, a lot of the poses in yoga are designed to strengthen your connection to oneself and therefore aligns your chakras.
Do you need to be flexible or athletic to do yoga?
The answer is NO. The toughest part about yoga is showing up to the mat each day and carving out time to practice this incredible act of self-love. The flexibility will come, the ease and the flow will come, all you need to do is showup and be willing to do the work and meet your edge. Your body will thank you, your mind will be grateful. I truly believe that yoga helps to nurture the mind, body and soul connection that we all strive to achieve. You can always start slow. One practice a week but I assure you that the more you do Yoga and see its benefit, the more you will want to practice it. I always say that my mat is my safe place. It’s where I can go no matter how I’m feeling and be met with little or no judgement. It allows me to take care of myself with love and respect, and if I can do that on the mat, I can definitely do that off the mat as well.
I will urge whoever is reading this to start practicing yoga with an open mind and an open heart and watch how the universe repays you.
My recommendations for starting your yoga journey
Believe it or not, I have only ever attended one public yoga class. I practice yoga in the comfort of my home and all this is achievable because of the internet. I will now recommend some yogi youtubers based on my own personal experiences with using their practice and sequences. My absolute favourite online yoga teacher is “Yoga with Adriene” on youtube. This woman is amazing and has changed my life and outlook on life for the better. I cannot recommend her enough. Please check out her channel and feel the magic and warmth that this woman radiates for yourself. Another youtuber I will recommend is “Boho Beautiful” on youtube; another amazing youtuber with the right outlook on life. Although I’d advice you start her practices after you’ve been practicing for a while but don’t let that stop you, you can always modify it to match your level. Remember to take each day as it is and not be too hard on yourself and your amazing body.
Hope this article helps at least one person to make a positive change in their life.
