A few months ago, my neighbor Denise (who teaches yoga) offered a month of free yoga classes, as she was trying to get in some extra hours for her yoga teacher's certification. I decided to give it a try, and have found myself hooked!By nature, I am a pretty tightly wound creature. When I started doing yoga, I pretty much felt as if I was very untalented and inept at yoga. I couldn't get breathing down, because I tend to hold my breath a lot, especially as I was trying to hold a pose steadily. I told my neighbor that she just needed to constantly remind us to breathe every minute or two so I would remember to stop holding my breath. Another problem I had came because I would find myself scrunched and crammed into a pose, feeling like I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing, when Denise would mention how we should relax our shoulders and roll them down the back (hmmm...mine are up around my ears) and lengthen and straighten our spine (hmmm...that would probably feel better than this hunched up Quasimodo pose I'm really in.) I also have issues with flexibility and balance, both an important part of many of the yoga poses, and both of which I am lacking in!
However, as I have continued on with it, I have come to love yoga. I am getting better at it: I can breathe more consistently throughout the poses, and as I go into each pose I try to remember to lengthen and stretch it out properly (it is actually amazing how much more comfortable a pose feels when you've lengthened your spine.) I feel as if it has helped my body as well. I feel a bit more flexible and balanced (a bit, don't expect to really see me do a pose like the one above yet!) and I feel like I have learned things that can relax my body even when I'm not actively doing a yoga class. Another things I've discovered is that yoga minimizes my physical PMS symptoms, which is an extremely wonderful thing as well!
After Denise's classes ended, I have tried to continue doing yoga, using two online yoga sites: http://www.yogatoday.com/ and http://www.myyogaonline.com/ . The Yoga Today site offers a weekly free yoga practice, and the My Yoga Online site (the one I use the most) is a subscription site where you can pick from numerous classes. I love using those sites because I can do a practice anytime, and with the Yoga Online site I can even pick the length of a practice, which makes it really adaptable to my daily schedule.
Yoga means "to unite", and the concept of yoga is to unite mind, body and soul with that of a higher power. As you discipline your body and mind with yoga, you become more in control of yourself (always a good thing to be!) I also love the concept of being patient with myself and my body in yoga. In a world that is so full of competition, winners and losers, it is nice to focus on being thankful for what my body can do and not compare myself to others.
One of my favorite things about yoga is what happens at the end of a practice. At the end of a practice you go through savasana, which is a relaxation pose, otherwise known as corpse pose. You lay on your back on the ground, with your arms and legs slightly opened, and then just relax and let go of everything. You try to relax not only your entire body, but your mind as well, and just basically be quiet. Afterwards, when I sit back up and bring my palms together at my heart and say "Namaste," (signifying a recognition of the divine in myself as well as my instructor), I can just feel peace and calm wash over me. Love it, love it, love it! A yoga practice is a great way to either start or end the day.
