I cant lie, as a born again yogi through and through it was hard to make this just 5 points but i have done my best, and highlighting why showing upto your mat does so much more then stretch your limbs and look cool on your Instagram...
BREATHING - I know, we do it all the time right? Or do we? Well, considering without this functionality our physical bodies wouldn't be alive anymore, we don't offer up to much attention or gratitude for our breath. In yoga it is all about the breath, or i believe it should be. The profound effects of simply laying down, hands on your belly and just inhaling for a count of 4-5 and exhaling for the same count is the most simple yet effective way to clear your mind ( which is a noisy monkey at the best of times) and just have a moment to collect yourselves and then move forward with intention. Thing i'm crazy? Put your phone/computer down and try it. Give this attention to the breath for a few hours a week is heaven on a mat.
BREATHING - I know, we do it all the time right? Or do we? Well, considering without this functionality our physical bodies wouldn't be alive anymore, we don't offer up to much attention or gratitude for our breath. In yoga it is all about the breath, or i believe it should be. The profound effects of simply laying down, hands on your belly and just inhaling for a count of 4-5 and exhaling for the same count is the most simple yet effective way to clear your mind ( which is a noisy monkey at the best of times) and just have a moment to collect yourselves and then move forward with intention. Thing i'm crazy? Put your phone/computer down and try it. Give this attention to the breath for a few hours a week is heaven on a mat.
QUIET YOUR MIND - Our mind is a beautiful gift or a destructive friend, when we spend to much time in it ( cue over stimulation with our phones, emails, over thinking) and never just switch off, check out, whatever you wanna call it. We can become a slave to it, where it begins to control us as opposed to us controlling it. Our inner knowing, our gut feelings gets lost and we bounce from thing to thing never really knowing how we got there or where we are going. Our yoga practice puts us safely out of reach of devices and teaches us to drop the awareness down into the body and experience what it feels like to be within it, in that moment, nothing more and nothing less.
NO BARKING TEACHERS* - sometimes i feel like there are far to many situations we find ourselves in in life where we have to do things a certain way, harder/faster/better then the person next to us etc etc. Don't get me wrong, there are times when this is appropriate but equally there are times when we need to just accept and embrace wherever we are that day, take a breath and acknowledge what we are feeling. I was once told that your one job as a yoga teacher is to remind your students that they are divine beings, just as they are. High five to that! Coming to your mat is a place to serve the body in that exact moment and if that means and hour of child's pose or belly breathing? Fabulous. (* i cant promise non barky teachers but i promise there are many)
OPEN YOUR BODY - I love the gym, crossfit, running all the upbeat exercise, i use to be a huge junkie of them in actual fact and found yoga boring, like this long drawn out stretching game that i just wanted to win. Thankfully times have a changed and nothing makes me happier then feeling free within my body, to opening up all the areas that take a beating through everyday life, be it training - working at a desk or just picking your kids up and down. Breathing and softening into these postures open your body in a way that is hugely impactful to your everyday movement. Plus, your bicecps wont be as important to you in your 80s, more so the flexibility and movement of your hips or the strength of your spine. Invest in both elements of keeping a strong body and a peaceful mind.
YOU DESERVE IT - CONNECT WITH THE DIVINE - EMBRACE WHO YOU ARE - Ok, i had to get a few in the last point. Find a teacher you resonate with ( there is one for us all, just do a bit of research trial and error) get out of that monkey mind and take the time to just transcend reality and remember you are but a speck in this epic universe. Meeting yourself on the mat each time you arrive to it, breathing into your body and quietening your mind is something that i cant tell you about really, its something that you can only experience yourself.
When you do ( because you will right...) notice the ripple effect this inner peace has on your life off the mat, your relationships and your decisions, as the practice takes form way beyond making shapes and enriches every aspect of our lives.
Namaste yogis and yogis to be.
Hells
**WARNING - The above is based on no actual fact and just my humble opinion**
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