Yoga philosophy teaches us that we have everything we need inside of us to tend to all of life’s moments, from the happiest to the most challenging.
Anxiety and depression are something I’ve battled with most of my life.
When I first started practicing yoga in 2017, I was a mess.
In outward appearance, I looked physically and emotionally strong, but on the inside, I was struggling. The toll of a high-pressured job mixed with lots of travel had rendered me unrecognizable to myself. From the moment I got out of bed to the moment I rested my head on a new pillow in a new hotel, I was a tight and anxious.
At the time, I turned to yoga after a few injuries had left me unable to practice daily strength training. As someone who always used strength training as an outlet for stress and anxiety, not having that in my life left me feeling out of sorts.
My physical therapist recommended I add yoga to my daily practice and rehabilitation from a herniated disk in my neck. Not knowing where to turn to learn the practice, I did what most likely do these days and did a little research on YouTube. What I found was a plethora of useful instruction and endless resources for learning.
As a morning person, I decided to make a commitment to adding 30 minutes of yoga to my morning routine to see if it might help. For the first two weeks, I felt like I was just going through the motions.
While I had noticed some benefit, mainly after my morning practice, it wasn’t until a breakthrough morning with some breath work that I found myself realizing what all the accolades of yoga were about.
From that morning on, I was hooked.
Next time, I'll share how teaching has deepened my understanding of yoga-- and how it can help you, too.
Discover the benefits of yoga for yourself. Join me or one of our other terrific instructors in a relaxing yet challenging yoga class. There are several every day! Any are a great starting point, but feel free to contact us if you have any questions about beginning your yoga journey.
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