7.09.2014

epiphanies: on starting yoga


first in a new series on epiphanies.

for me, practicing yoga is one of the best things i have ever done for myself. a half year on, yoga has become an essential part of my daily routine.

as with many things in life, just getting started was the most difficult step. back in January, it was on my list of new year's resolutions, and seemed like a pleasant indoor workout option for the dead of winter.

i had no idea that i'd get hooked after a week.

some things i've learned along the way:
  • it's a real workout. difficult, sweaty, muscle-and-strength-challenging, intense. i've never felt so sore as i did after those first weeks, but after six months, i feel stronger in more ways than one.
  • it's a realtime mind/body metaphor. if i'm stressed or my mind is cluttered with worries and thoughts, i'll wobble or fall out of a pose right at the moment when that distracting thought interrupts my concentration. 
  • it's empowering. the feeling of finally getting a pose after weeks of trying (in my case, half moon and side plank) is amazing. that feeling has a great way of trickling into how i think about other goals.
in short, yoga has become a life gamechanger for me. it's wonderful to know that i can make time for myself on a daily basis, take stock and renew my mental and physical energies, and feel blissful even if i've had a really crappy day. usually, the days when i don't feel up for yoga are the days when i need it the most.

have you had a similar epiphany recently? do you do yoga?

//

P.S. – coming up tomorrow: my interview with a yoga teacher.

9 comments:

  1. I don't do yoga, but I'll definitely look into this once my baby comes. I'm looking forward to working out again and yoga sounds like it would be good especially since I know I'll be super stressed with new baby and work.

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  3. Working out in general was an epiphany for me. I had always been one of those "lol no, I never work out" kind of people until a friend forced me to start working out with her back in 2007. Before then I had back problems, I took afternoon naps almost every day (and back then I wasn't even working full time, I was still a student) and ate junk ALL the time. All of a sudden I found a love for spinning and core classes, and my energy levels shifted after only a few weeks. I stopped taking naps, and I also got sick much less than I used to. Shifting my diet took much longer, but when I look back it was like I was a completely different person back then. I honestly used to think working out was only for looks (and hey, I was already reasonably slim, so why bother, right?) and that the healthy benefits were way overhyped, but boy was I wrong. Never ever going back :)

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    1. oh man, i was the same way until the last year or two. it's one of those things that you have to grow into. my 20-year-old self certainly didn't 'get it'!

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    2. Ugh I need to get my act together. Thanks Miss Sophie for sharing this motivating post.

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  4. I can SO relate to your post! I also felt like I discovered some hidden treasure when I started practising yoga... there's no words to describe what it does to me, and it's hard to explain to people that it's not just sitting on your mat for an hour and "think about life", but it truly is a challenging work-out with benefits AFTER the class. I don't know what kind of yoga you're practising, but I highly recommend you to start with hot/bikram yoga! everything changed for me, the way I ate, the way I thought, even the way I studied during finals (all of a sudden I could concentrate from the very first minute till the very last one - which is a giant leap for an easily distracted person...) :) so thanks for putting it this well in your post!

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    1. "hidden treasure" - YES. i don't do hot yoga (yet) as the intense heat / all that sweating kind of freaks me out a bit. i do mostly vinyasa, which i love.

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  5. I started a class but injured my knee and had to drop out. I haven't gone bace due to back problems, but I'm still interested...as a mind/body practice and a de-stressor. That's what happens when you gain weight and let yourself get so out of shape! But I'm working on it!

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    1. there are so many different kinds of yoga classes (gentle yoga to more intense ones), i hope you can get back into it!

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