I joke that I’ve been sitting on the floor since January of 1997.
That’s when yoga entered my life. When I started my practice in that, ballet-studio-by-day/yoga-studio-by-night, it was so very uncomfortable to occupy the chairless space on my yoga mat.
Over time, and I mean six months or so, I became better able to be comfortable in chairlessness and I know that it is one reason I enjoy a stronger, more flexible back and spine, despite the forces of time and gravity!
My yoga practice began at a time when I was a full-time caregiver. It became my “mini-vacation,” once a week.
It wasn’t necessarily easy or convenient to fit it into my schedule but I did it anyway… and I stuck to it. Going to yoga class once a week was the self-care I needed to make it possible to lovingly care for others the rest of the week.
That was six years before I enrolled in yoga teacher training at Kripalu (YTT).
Over the years, yoga has moved beyond the mat to become a way of life, and I have a growing awareness of the ways a consistent practice infiltrates all aspects of my life.
I have very nice visits with myself when I am on the yoga mat. It’s ME time – 90 minutes on the mat works wonders on one’s attitude!
The value of wrangling your schedule to fit in a practice where you can have a nice visit with yourself, is immense. A consistent yoga practice has a cumulative effect on the body and can show up in things like:
- Reducing or eliminating insomnia
- Balance mood swings
- Reducing aches and pains in the joints and muscles
- Preventing chronic pain and muscle tightness, which is crucial for living in a happy body!
Gently moving your body through poses helps bring awareness to spots you had no idea were in need of attention. The more consistent you are with a routine of self-care, the happier you and your body will be with each other.
It is truly profound and a blessing to witness someone as they transform after a few months into the start of a yoga practice with me. Often they can’t see it for themselves but I can clearly see the expanded opening of limbs, the freedom of newly discovered (or rediscovered) pain-free movement and the aura of peace and calm they carry that’s as visible as the mat tucked under their arm.
Like every organic, living thing, YOU are an on-going project in need of consistent nurturing to remain vibrant. Why not allow a yoga practice be part of your self-care regimen?
Any yoga is better than no yoga, so, please do drop-in once in a while. But a weekly practice can begin to unwind days, months or years of chronic tightness of both the body and mind.
The effects of life are also cumulative and are not usually a quick fix. It takes time for your body to get tight, and it takes an ongoing practice to reverse the tension the muscles have learned to maintain. When you are ready to release the suffering, I’m ready to lead the way!