My Yoga Journey

MY YOGA JOURNEY – MORE THAN JUST NAMASTE AND YOGA PANTS

I used to think yoga was just about the physical aspects; you get super flexible, feel proud of yourself, and that’s that. For myself, yoga used to be about doing particular movements, poses, and about increasing range of motion and flexibility. I remember years ago just doing yoga for the flexibility aspect and I would get so excited when I would reach a new level of flexibility but I’ve learned recently that that aspect of yoga is really only a singular, incredibly small piece of this whole yoga process.

<Yoga is a Hindu philosophy relating to physical and mental disciplines for becoming liberated from the material world. It is also the journey to unite one’s being with one’s personally identified ‘Supreme Being’ (1).>

Yoga is truly a journey of the body, mind, and soul/spirit. I didn’t fully understand the importance of yoga until I stepped up my meditation practice. Meditation is like exercise for the mind. It might seem paradoxical but the hardest thing about meditation for me was getting silent and clearing my mind. I would start out meditating with a clear mind but then I would lose focus for a second and I’d start thinking about my ‘to do’ list, and then what to have for dinner, then what I wanted to get done the next day, and before I knew it my brain was racing and very far away from the clear head you should have when meditating. The trick for me with meditation is to notice your mind shifting as soon as it does. When I notice my mind wandering and call it out, I am that much quicker at returning to that important state of ’empty mindedness’ for meditation. Having your mind all clear leaves you open for those important soul messages that can’t possibly come through when your mind is bombarded with your thoughts of everyday life.

This clarity and focus has completely changed my yoga practice; so much so that the perfection of the movements is pretty much at the bottom of my list. For myself, yoga has become a lot more breath focused than movement focused. When I’m doing a pose, my primary focus is on my breath through the pose and movements. Sure nailing a pose feels great but when you are able to breath through a difficult pose and remain focused rather than holding your breath and only focusing on the pain, that’s where the magic is. I’m definitely still working on this breathing through the pose thing. I’m not some super flexible gymnast by any means. So that means, whether I like it or not, I won’t be crushing any complicated poses right away; but I think that’s kind of the point.

Yoga has also taught me the importance of a practice so many of us are just terrible at, being present and living in the moment. I know for myself that I so often forget to be present and just focus on going from one thing to the next; just thinking ahead, going crazy quickly just to make sure I feel accomplished at the end of the day. But life is so much more than a ‘to do’ list. Life has to be more than just rushing from one thing to the next from waking to crashing into bed exhausted at the end of the day. Yoga helps me remember the importance of just stopping. Stopping to breathe. Stopping to look around. Stopping to notice the things around me; the subtle beautiful things that when I’m rushing I always forget to notice. Notice the little beauty that is all around us; the sun shining, or the clouds dancing in the sky, the birds singing, the sound of the rain falling, the music of the thunder crashing across the sky, the smiles on the faces of the ones we love, the voices of the ones we love saying ‘I love you’ in all their ways: ‘How are you feeling?’ ‘Are you doing ok?’ ‘Do you need anything?’ ‘I picked you up some groceries, can I drop them off?’ ‘Are you sleeping ok?’. We say I love you in so many ways and it’s time we remember to notice them, no matter how small they are. There’s beauty all around us and taking the presence that yoga demands out into the world affords me the chance to notice it.

Yes yoga is fabulous for your body. It helps us improve flexibility, range of motion, endurance, and so much more. But yoga is so much more than a physical activity; it helps every aspect of our being: body, mind, and soul/spirit. Yoga makes you be present, it doesn’t allow you to let your mind wander or you could fall out of a pose and at worst injure yourself. Yoga demands your presence, it demands your focus and attention to your body. It demands you focus on your breath and clear your mind, which for the record is WAAYYY harder than it sounds (cue the mind racing). When you clear your mind you can be in the moment, and that’s the most powerful place you can be. Living in the moment is what it’s all about. When we’re present, the magic happens. When you’re in the moment, not looking forward to your ‘to do’ list or feeling upset about what you didn’t get done yesterday, but just being there, right now, you notice the magic all around you. Being present lets you receive those soul messages that simply can’t t come through when you’re not in the moment. Try it.

I’m nowhere near a yoga master. I’m not as flexible as I want to be. I’m not at the point where I can do fancy poses. But thanks to yoga, I’m learning and getting better at being in the moment, on and off the mat. So try it today, and start out small. All you have to do is get on that mat and take some deep breaths, it all starts there. Good luck on your very own yoga journey. Cheers!

Resources

Dictionary.com. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/yoga