Here is another post for my “Stress Less” series on the blog
today. Oh the wonders of yoga, haha! I’ll start off by saying I’m not that new
to yoga. When I was younger, like ten or 11, I would take classes two times a
week for about an hour. It’s young I know, but boy did it relax me. I still
remember the dimly lit room, the amazingly scented candles, and how the
teachers would cover our eyes at the end and spray our feet with essential
oils. It was nice :)
Fast forward a few years, and here I am really throwing
myself into the world of yoga. Before last year, I had no idea there were so
many ways of yoga practice. There’s so many to name, but practices like
Vinyasa, Hatha, Bikram, Nidra, Aerial, etc! It amazes me that they are all so
different.
When I first started practicing yoga by myself a little over
a year ago, I didn’t see the purpose of it. I didn’t look deep enough into what
it was really doing for me. I almost gave it up for good, until I started
researching different techniques. I also watched different youtube videos,
which helped me to do more advanced moves. I ended up learning a lot, and I
found that I like a faster moving flow, more breathe and things like that. Not
always, because sometimes the slow relaxation flows do wonders. But it really
sucked me into it!
When I finally started to understand what it does for the
mind, I was addicted to it. At first, I though yoga was just another form of
exercise or strength training. But it is SO much more than that. You learn to
control your breath, your thoughts, your body, you build amazing body strength,
flexibility, stability and the list goes on and on. I find that ever since I
started doing yoga a couple times a week, I’ve been a lot calmer in situations where
I would usually start to freak out or get anxiety. Since I’ve seen such amazing
results with my inner self, I really want to start doing yoga every morning.
Even if it means I have to wake up 30 minutes earlier, it really makes a
difference in my day.
Along with changes in my mind and thoughts, I feel so much
stronger! Really, even my mom was like “what are you doing to get your arms
that toned?!” I’ll admit I got kind of excited when she said that, especially
since I have thin boney arms, I’m glad I’m finally starting to build muscle. It
also strengthens your core amazingly, your legs, pretty much every muscle of
your body.
I have also recently found a yoga studio with my mom, and
her and I have started to go together every Saturday morning. Let me tell you,
after I finish my class, I feel like a new person. I sweat in that class,
literally!! But we also do slow moves with long breaths that literally
re-charge you and relax you to the point of sleeping. When I walk out, I feel
so grateful and happy to be alive, and it sounds weird but my inner thoughts
just change immediately.
So as you can see, I really have nothing bad to say about
yoga haha. It just takes a little time to get used to! With our world going as
fast as it is, and everyone is so busy doing other things, people don’t take
enough time for themselves, and when it comes time to slowing down sometimes
it’s hard on people because we aren’t used to taking things slower. So if you
don’t do yoga, I want you to give it a try. Maybe grab a friend or your parent
and try a yoga studio. You’ll really feel a difference in yourself.
Xx,
Maddie
