YOGA!

I am no expert. I’ve been practicing for years, but I still consider myself a beginner. I remember using some amazing videos in the beginning to get my basic poses and form down before I attempted studio classes. I still do videos religiously to this day, but I also like to create my own routine using a yoga book I have.I loved my videos because my fave instructor (Tara Stiles) made yoga accessible. There are a lot of purists out there (a few of my friends included) who have tried introducing me to yoga their way… which was in-depth, meditative stuff with a lot more dialogue than I would have liked. I respect yoga A LOT, and my respect/knowledge grows every day… but to be honest, what “lured me in” was Tara’s simplicity- how she broke down her workouts into WORKOUTS, just jumping in, rather than just talking for the first 10-20 minutes.

Over the years I have incorporated the “in-depth, meditative stuff” into my yoga practice as well. Im a calmer more easy going person because of it!

Tara got me at video 1 by making me WORK (the beginners videos just go over basic poses, but whewwww, I sucked big time my first few run-throughs). After my first 5-minute video, despite my massive inability to do most of the things Tara was doing smoothly, I was hooked. I thought “hmmm.. I can do this… the stretching feels nice and I just broke a mini-sweat” The next day I did two videos. The next day I did three… etc I love yoga because your accomplishments are measurable- tangible within your own body and mind. I just FELT AMAZING after yoga every single time. My body felt it the next day, but the lighter, easier stretching routines would loosen it up. I never felt pressured.. I was just loving it, despite the difficulty, and wanted to be able to move with the instructors fluid grace and strength. And every day, I was getting closer.My fingertips initially couldn't reach my toes. Really, they stopped about 4 inches above. I was not a flexible person. Athletic yes, flexible, no. But there was a difference after about two weeks!

Palms flat on the ground.

I have to keep saying this… I RESPECT yoga. I too, will continue to learn more about the practice and the philosophy behind it (what little I know, I love, and think it has already made me a calmer, gentler person),I want to practice just about all the styles of yoga in a studio by a guru as often as I can. But starting this way has made it, accessible for ME. My interest in yoga was never piqued by the yoga classes I took back in highschool... It was an organic moment; me at home, on my new yoga mat, struggling to breathe properly while stretching my body, when I finally thought “huh… this is… gratifying… and hard… and awesome.” The love was born. And now here I am, blogging about yoga ...

I feel more flexible every day. Stronger. Happier. Calmer. My morning doesn’t start for me, mentally or physically, until I finish at LEAST a few minutes of an easy stretching routine. Then the day is clear. When I tense up/stress out later in the afternoon, it’s back to the mat for another session of mind-clearing yoga. What I REALLY like about yoga is that while you are practicing, you cannot think about anything else but EXACTLY what you are physically doing. Concentrating on that + breathing + relaxing into your muscles is incredibly therapeutic. I think the psychological benefits of working out tension through your body AND forcing your mind to also essentially “work out” are the reasons why everybody says that yoga is a great form of stress relief. You can zone it out while running, but you can’t ever lose focus while practicing yoga. And what it does for your body….

I’m not a judgy person. I’ll be the first to admit I tried yoga again for the physical benefits only (I wanted a “yoga” body). But although my love for it started superficially, it is what drew me in to WANT to commit fully (though gradually). I don’t feel pressured by anything… I just WANT to get stronger, and hit those crazy poses that are reblogged so often on Tumblr. 30 minutes every morning and 30 minutes at night is what I am doing now, and I can’t tell you how great it makes me feel during the day and before I go to sleep.

Namaste <3