The Many Benefits of Yoga

My Yoga Journey

Let's talk about yoga! There are so many benefits to this modality of training, such as improving balance, lengthening and strengthening your muscles and core, helping you tune into and release any tension, and improving your posture. It helps me find stillness and sit comfortably in it. Also, because it’s low impact, it can be done any time of day and at any age! 

For the first 6 yrs of taking yoga classes, it was simply a form of stretching to me. I could devote an hour and a half a week to stretching out the muscles I'd been working. It is normal to have muscle imbalances where some of your body's muscles are easier to fire, initiate, and/or keep turned on. My tension tends to go to my chest or upper neck muscles. At the same time, other muscles are much more challenging to engage or keep turned on. For me, it's my mid-back; I have a tendency to round and catch my shoulders, slumping forward. I had terrible posture from carrying a backpack and slouching over my books for years during college, which affected my spine and my ability to turn on my core. It took a while to correct, but with the help of my yoga practice, I was able to improve my posture. 

As I moved into competition training, I still needed to stand up taller and develop my mid back. Poses like cobra and bow were humbling for me to hold, but they helped me build the small muscles I needed to pull my shoulder blades together and my shoulders away from my ears. I actually enjoyed the challenge and was satisfied by my steady progress. 

Over the years, yoga has become a way for me to slow down my brain a bit. It’s not easy. Those who know me know I tend to have high energy, always on the move, with every minute of my day planned. I had to force myself to schedule in some down time. I’ve learned to slow down my thinking and choose a focus every time I step onto the mat. I remember one instructor asking me what was the hardest thing about a pose. Being strong as I am, you might have expected it to be a particular muscle or balance. But I told him it was my breathing! He understood, and told me to inhale every time I was expanding my body to give my lungs more room and exhale every time I was contacting my body to purposely push the remaining air out. What a relief! I have integrated that into my strength training as well. I had been practicing yoga for about 8 years before I learned that! 

I continued yoga as I was pregnant and needed some release in my lower back and hips. I am small in stature, so I started losing my center while carrying a child. I found my weight shifting forward and my back started to arch. It reminded me of the years I had carried a heavy backpack, so I knew there were some muscle imbalances being created as my body changed. Prenatal yoga helped me release the tension forming. Dynamic (moving) poses helped me move with more focus and static (holding) poses released the tension built up around my lower back, hip flexors, and neck.

Yoga has increased my body awareness and how I feel in my body. Some standing poses are much more challenging than seated or laying poses. They help me engage my core and use a focal point, which easily translates to calming the chatter in my mind. You may get a deeper stretch while sitting, but you can't get away with not using your core or being overly distracted when you stand. You will fall. Balancing exercises are also much more difficult in the morning because my body is only starting to wake up. Some poses and stretches have tapped into emotions and feelings I had tucked away. When I learned about chakras and energy centers in your body being released during yoga poses, that helped me understand why I would suddenly start to cry in a hip opener stretch! I have seen amazing changes in my body, such as sitting longer in a cross legged position without pain. I see why yogi continue to practice even at age 100 or beyond! That is my goal.

There are many different types of yoga. Hatha and vinyasa bring heat into your muscles, like a workout. Yoga nidra taps into mindfulness to relieve anxiety or induce sleep. Yin yoga pushes you to go deep, focusing on a few stretches in an hour. Ashtanga yoga pushes your athleticism with a series of poses, it’s more playful but also challenging. Find a style that fits you and start implementing it into your life. Or try a new style if you haven't tried it yet. You won’t be sorry! I love seeing my muscly guys sweat just doing a couple standing poses like warrior… it IS a workout.

Here is a 37-minute yin yoga practice for you. You can find others on my YouTube channel.
See you on the mat!