Thoughts from a Born Again Yogi: Why Practicing Yoga Regularly is an Excellent Workout for Your Mind and Body
In yesterday’s post, I touched briefly on the fact that I want to start getting into yoga again, and that I love the way it makes me feel. Today, I wanted to go into a little more detail as to what exactly I’m talking about what I refer to this “feeling.”
You see, I used to practice yoga quite regularly and then sort of fell off track like we all do at certain times in our life. The road to my born again yogi-ness all started Tuesday morning, when I asked my friend Jen (a yoga lover & relationship expert) over at Blonde Bronzed Twenty-Something if I should take a yoga class or spinning class that evening. “Yoga, 100%” she said. At first, I had trouble banking on a yoga class for my workout, rather than a sweat-inducing, fast-paced spinning class. I was doubtful, highly doubtful.
Then she went on to tell me how amazing and focused I’d feel after the class. “Plus, it’ll be a great workout for your core and strength.” With a little more convincing on her end, I was sold. After all, Jen was right…and I owed it to myself to dedicate 75 minutes to some much needed “me” time.
Jen also told me that I should pick a few points of focus for my class. I chose compassion, faith and strength. The compassion let me know that things are worth fighting for and that love will carry me through, faith let me know “I can do this” and “I can do anything I set my mind to.” Strength reminded me that I’m a young, powerful woman and helped me hold tough poses longer than I ever thought.
After the 75 minutes were over, I felt like a brand new me: refreshed, inspired, and strong. Those 75 minutes were some of the best minutes I’ve spent in a long time. Sure, I wasn’t drenched in sweat nor out of breath, but I had one of the best workouts I’ve had in a long time…and that’s because it was a workout for my mind and body.
After my practice, I sat in bed that night with these final thoughts of the day…
1. I am a young, beautiful, confident woman.
2. I will get to where I want to be in life if I keep having faith.
3. I am in a happy place. I need to let myself enjoy this.
4. Damn…my core is feeling pretty tight right now. That means I worked hard tonight and challenged myself.
5. I need to continue challenging myself each in every day, so that I can grow and become a better person.
6. I can (and should) allow myself 60, 75, or even 90 minutes of yoga because the time pays off
7. Sometimes we need to remember to stop worrying about times and schedules and just be…
8. Life is beautiful. There are so many things to be appreciative of.
9. I am lucky…to have what I have and to do what I do.
10. Yoga is definitely not an “easy way out” exercise for sissies. It was tough, and surely gave my body (and my mind) an excellent workout.
Do you practice yoga regularly? What are some thoughts and beliefs you take away from each class?
April 21st, 2011 at 9:55 am
The number one thought I have after practicing is ‘I am so grateful to have breath in me’. You spend the practice observing your breath, and never is it more prominent than after your done your practice.
Yoga isn’t just an exercise, but a state of mind. I notice differences in my sense of calm on days I do a class. Great, motivating article, Rach (even though I’m super bitter my alarm didn’t wake me up for my Yin class this morning…)