For my entire life I’ve struggled with exercise.
Going to the gym, swimming, running, ultimate frisbee, even completing a half marathon.
I did it all.
But I never loved it.
I exercised to be healthy, or to eat ice cream, but never because I couldn’t NOT exercise.
So it comes as quiet a shock to me that lately, I’ve been getting up before the sun, at 5:30am, to continue my daily yoga practice.
And it’s amazing.
Look at that. Sheesh.
I never thought I’d appreciate the slow lighting of the sky but man, it’s amazing.
Almost exactly two years ago, I began a daily practice.
I can honestly say I have never been in better shape and never have I felt better, and I know it is all a result of my daily practice.
It hasn’t been easy, and obviously I’ve missed some days due to illness or travel, but in these two years I have learned a few things. So here are the reasons why you too should have (or start!) a yoga practice.
1. It’s not just a fad
I know, I know. Yoga pants are everywhere. And it really can SEEM like everyone is doing yoga lately. But yoga has been a physical and spiritual practice for centuries. It’s not new, and for those who legitimately practice, it’s not going anywhere. Know that it’s been around this long for a reason, and it’s not the clothes (though they are a bonus).
2. It’s so much more than exercise.
Yes, yoga will increase your strength, flexibility and balance. I’ve literally never been as strong as I am now, even more than the times in my life I weight trained at the gym. I can bend and twist my body and do poses I always assumed were beyond my reach. Yes, yoga is amazing exercise. But yoga isn’t just about that stuff. It’s also about awareness. This one thing has changed me more than the strength and flexibility and balance that yoga brings. Those other things are awesome don’t get me wrong – but learning to listen to my body, to become aware of how I feel and why I feel that way has been astounding. I eat better, not because I HAVE TO or because I’m on some crazy new diet, but because I know what things make me feel good and what things don’t when I eat them. I am aware of how I feel before I get on the mat and how I feel afterwards. It is this awareness that keeps me coming back to my mat. Morning after morning. Day after day. Yoga just makes me feel good. Really good. Why wouldn’t I want that all the time?
3. Breath
In yoga we learn that if you can control your breath, you can control anything. You can do anything with breath. I love this. Not only is it empowering but the breathing steadily with movement of yoga has all sorts of positive impacts on your health – physical and mental. Stress goes down, happiness goes up. I always feel so awesome after a long or especially focused practice. And that feeling leaves the mat when I do. My connection to the breath and feeling like I can do anything as long as I keep breathing – that stays with me into all the areas of my life.
On top of that, for me, breath is equated with spirit. The Greek word we use to talk about the Holy Spirit, “pneuma”, literally means breath. Yoga is holy for me because it physically connects me to the Spirit in a way I don’t often experience elsewhere.
So that’s it.
Those are (a few of) my reasons why I think yoga is great. And why I think more people should do it.
I mean really – What if everyone were a little stronger, a little more flexible, and a little more peaceful as they went throughout their day?
What if everyone felt good more often?
What if people had a daily reminder of the presence of the Holy Spirit?
Maybe we’d feel more like this…
Want to try and don’t know how?
Start here. She’s my fave.
Not annoying. Not complicated or fancy.
Try her “Yoga for Complete Beginners”, “30 Days of Yoga” (if you want to jump into daily for a month), or go through any of her Foundations of Yoga vids to get details on poses.
You can do it.