Writing this I think of you, why? Well because I feel like life has been kind to me and fortunately I got the chance to experience some things that have given me a lot in my daily life, and which may give you something too.
So one thing I want to share with you is that; I have been practicing Yoga almost every morning as part of my morning routine for nearly 10 years. Its makes me feel really good and maybe it can do the same for you. Now I know you might think- For learning yoga I need to go to a yoga studio 3 times a week and take a course and all that… so the good news is, that you really don’t. It depends on where you want to take your body and how much time you want it to take for it to get there.
Yoga is a vast world and there are many different branches. Yoga courses can be great and I do recommend it if you really want to dive into it or just need a course structure to keep you on track, but If you just want to calm your mind and stretch your body as a way to go from night to day action you can start with just learning the basic “Sun salutation”. Once I met a Yogi in India that told me that the combination of movements forming the sun salutation is a great general practice that offers great benefits to your body and mind. By practicing this daily you can keep your body in good shape for years. I forgot to mention this yogi was 60 and looked 37 or something like that, so I thought to myself he probably knows what he’s talking about so I’ve been on the case since then.
If you ask me; check out some youtube videos, see if it feels like something you want to try, go check where a yoga studio is near you, go and learn the sun salutation and try to do it daily, every morning for a month, see how it effects your life.
Yoga in its basic form does not even refer to the body. It’s about “calming the movements of mind” or in other words, meditation. The way Yoga does this is by bringing your focus to your breathing and challenging you to be in balance and have awareness. This develops your mind and overall abilities since it asks you learn how to be focused inwards; on your breathing, balance, body posture, muscle tension etc… This is very different from how most people live their life. The focus is mostly directed outwards; phones, work, talking and generally there is an overload of information and distractions through most of the day.
What information needs is attention which means; the more information there is the more attention is needed to consume this information. Many people become overwhelmed and confused, maybe you have these moments too. The math shows that the amounts of information available, do not make it easier to be focused on the important things, and at least for me, bringing attention to the body is an important thing.
So, every morning I practice some Yoga- it tells me how I feel today, what thoughts go in my mind, if I have any pain and if a part of my body needs some rest. After a period of time it will even assist in feelings, and with what kinds and which amounts of food I should eat. It’s a great bio feedback to start the day with.
I used to drink coffee almost every morning before I got into yoga, when I tried practicing yoga after the morning coffee I realized my heart was pumping and it was not easy to go in to deeper breaths and calm mind. Yoga got me reconnected with my body and now I don’t feel any need for a morning coffee, I just go straight into yoga which for me is a great way to wake up. J
I hope by now you are intrigued enough to try it for yourself J and if you already practice yoga, great stuff! Hope you do it daily. For this time slot, from the moment we wake up till the moment we go to sleep, it is so very Important to contain activities as they become foundations for everything that we do… but that’s for another post…
I hope you enjoyed this post on “Why say yes to Yoga” and that you’re going to do something about it, and you know, it does not matter what physical shape you are in now, because Yoga is first a state of mind. Even if you are just bringing awareness to your body as it is now you’re doing great.
Till next time,
Namaste.
Ortal
