Yoga - the union of the mind, body and spirit. It is the place in my life that belongs solely to me and my practice keeps me calm and centered. I have been taking hot yoga (the room is heated to 85 degrees or more at the start of class) for about a year. Now if you know me, you know how out of character it is for me to choose to be hot. The heat helps your body warm up quickly and allows you to get deeper into the pose. The class is also humid so my glasses come off at the start of class which instantly allows my focus to go inward since I can't really see what is going on around me. (I do not wear my contacts to class because of various reasons but the main one is that we have a five to ten minute savasana at the end of class.) At the end of the hour or so, the endorphins kick in and I have "yoga brain" for a good hour and sometimes the rest of the day. It is similar to the bliss of a good massage.
The poses or postures help work the stress out of your body which then allows for meditation and reflection. You have worked your physical body in such a way that you have a sense of accomplishment, whether it is you survived the hour or you achieved your best dancer yet!
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/936 I don't do this dancer but a one armed variation. This is my new favorite pose although I still love pigeon http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/863. It is believed that we carry our emotions in our hips (which explains mine!) and this is a hip opener to help release some of those stored or bottled up emotions.
Yoga is a practice where your progress is measured only by you. If you find a good teacher, you will have someone to help guide you on your journey but it is your journey.
While I was completing my teacher training, I made friends for life that I call my yoga sisters. We love each other and support each other. We are a group of women at various stages of love and life who find strength, support and humor in one another. We each have our own love of yoga with each of us having our specialties and gifts.
There is a yoga practice for everyone whether you focus on the physical, spiritual or mindfulness. Yoga helps you become fully in the moment; you shut out all of the "noise" in your head and life. It is an (half) hour (or half) that you dedicate to yourself and YOU are worth it.
Namaste, Namaskar
You go GIRL, I will watch.
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