Yoga for Life!
Not me… courtesy of Unsplash
Ahhh Yoga, where would I be without you? To be honest, I’d probably be doing some sort of physical activity only because that’s who I am, but I can say with absolute certainty that it wouldn’t have to same affect on me. I started doing yoga on and off in 2005 when my mother bought me a yoga dvd and pilates dvd for my studio apartment because I was complaining to her that I could no longer afford a gym membership. She kept telling me that yoga is great for toning the body AND quieting the mind and pilates seemed to be and I quote “the new yoga that all the young people were doing”. It was cute even if it wasn’t entirely accurate. But, if I remember really far back, my mom did yoga on our living room floor (with carpet similar to the colour carpet in the picture above). I think it was on PBS and a dark haired thin woman (much like my own mother) wore a unitard and sat in full lotus and guided the viewers through a series of poses as well as breathing techniques. I tried not to bug my mom when she did yoga, but I know I did and I think she eventually gave it up and for that I apologize because yoga is now part of my everyday routine and I’m reaping the benefits.
Although not every day is my yoga practice full of power or vinyasa, but I do make it a point to sit on my mat and at least tune in to my breath. Breath work was a slow burn for me as I used to think and want yoga to be a workout, especially during my first pregnancy when I seemed was too clumsy to perform my regular scheduled workouts, which were running, (or cross country skiing/skating in the winter), biking and the not so consistent kettlebell workout. However, near the end of pregnancy our prenatal yoga instructor would always lead us in a ‘birthing breath work’ type of sequence, which proved to be an incredible useful tool for me during my own labours. And even now (long finished with pregnancies) I still come back to those types of breathing when I need to think clearly, deal with my kids bickering with each other, or winding down before bed.
The benefits of yoga for me are very personal and I believe that happens to many people who practice yoga regularly. As I grew deeper in my practice, I started feeling the need to education and discover the history of yoga, the philosophy of yoga and how those things could transfer into my modern day practice. I read about prana (breath), the bandhas (locks in the body), the chakras (energy in the body) and the asanas (poses). I became confused and frustrated reading these things on my own and gave up for awhile and just focused on my home practice, which was mainly asanas and went to the local studio maybe once week again only focusing on the poses and not really listening to anything else the teacher said. I became more fixated on ‘nailing’ a pose than I did the process. Finally, after years of doing this, it finally dawned on me that maybe I should really immerse myself in yoga and take the 200 hour teacher training course. I had no intention of using it for teaching, but for personal growth therefore I looked for a relatively inexpensive one and dug in. I not only enjoyed taking the course and learning the philosophy of yoga from someone who has spent years understanding the texts, but I became more aware of my own place in this world, which was a truly empowering and transformative experience.
I reap the benefits of yoga everyday in many ways. I’ve developed self compassion and self forgiveness. I don’t judge myself for my thoughts, feelings and how I present myself to the world both in the past and the present. I strive to live authentically. I realized that my driving force is one of service to others. I’m eager to share my strengths and expertise with others in hopes that I help build others up, especially women, parents and family systems. I’m okay with just letting things go and not bringing them up again. I find myself completely content at times, not all times mind you, but there’s been a definite shift there. I also find myself being more grateful and thinking more about the environment. I want to move my body everyday, take care of it and build strength. I want to continue learning all the things.
Although I started my yoga teacher journey to enhance and cultivate my own practice, after completing the teacher training I feel it is important for me share this knowledge of poses, breathing and introspection work with anyone who wants it. I love doing private or small group yoga classes at the moment, which seems fitting during this time of a global pandemic and strive to tailor the practice around you and what you’re craving lately. I come to you with an open heart and open mind to provide an opportunity for you to get in a workout, or get in a positive headspace, or allow your body to melt into the mat, or maybe its all three and then some - whatever you need we can make it happen. Namaste, friend.
