For a while, I had debated on doing my training during an intensive course in Mexico, but it wouldn't have worked out with my work schedule. I do still hope to go on a yoga retreat in a tropical place, but doing my training near home once a month is the best fit for me!
In light of this new chapter in my yoga experience, I've been reflecting on what yoga has already given me in my life. I started practicing to help with my stress and depression, but it has transformed my life and offered me a passion that I didn't know was possible! So here are the top five things that yoga has taught me:
1. Set An Intention: This tenet applies not only to yoga, but to life. Everyday occurrences are transformed when you have the right intention - in everything from eating, to interpersonal relationships, to your relationship with yourself.
2. You Are Capable Of So Much More Than You Ever Thought: I've done things I thought I could never do - like headstands - by just giving them a try. The thing about yoga is that it doesn't matter if you succeed... there's no judgement or pressure to do something in a certain amount of time. Often times, when that pressure is off, you are more enabled to achieve what you're trying to do. Just give yourself a chance - I promise you'll surprise yourself.
3. Express Yourself!: When I first started doing yoga again in 2013, I tried out Yoga With Adriene, a YouTube series that I absolutely loved. In one of the videos (I forget which one), Adriene told us to express ourselves in each pose. So, for example, in Downward-Facing Dog, if you feel like wiggling your hips back and forth because it feels good, do it!! Yoga is all about doing what's right for your body. Express yourself in the truest sense of the word - evoke your self through your asanas.
4. Let Go Of All Things That Do Not Serve You: Yet another yoga tenet that translates into real life. It seems so counterintuitive, but the things that harm us are the easiest things to hold on to - stress, worries, anger, jealousy. But these things, by definition, do not serve us. So why are we holding on to them? Let it go. Breathe in, and exhale it out.
5. Honor Yourself: This is the most important thing any of us can take from our yoga practice. So often, our life's focus seems to be on how we interact with others (read: relationship drama, impressing our parents, worrying about what our friends think, etc). But our relations with others will never be as fulfilling if we don't have a solid relationship with ourselves first.
The first step is knowing yourself. The second step is accepting yourself. The third step is honoring yourself.
ॐ namasté
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