My Yoga Journey

When life gives you light and a fire in your belly you go after it. You follow it where ever it may take you. My yoga practice has definitely changed since I took my first studio class back in the mid 2000’s. My family and I were on a cruise to the Bahamas, my second time visiting the island by boat. One of the things that I wanted to do while on the ship was take a yoga class. I read through all of the classes they had to offer, picked one and told my brother he was coming along with me. I had no idea what to expect but the view of the ocean sailing along in front of us  and my brother by my side I was ready for whatever the class would bring.

What it brought was new light into the yoga community for me. I wanted to take more classes and move my home based practice into a studio practice. When we got back from that trip I finally decided to see a chiropractor about my chronic migraines. Instead I found out about my scoliosis and how yoga could be beneficial to the overall health of my back. My practice definitely had to change. My spine wasn’t a normal spine anymore. I had to relearn everything I had already learned and now had to do it with a crooked spine. I am still learning about my spine and how it moves in space. But now I needed to find classes that would work with my abilities.

Fast forward a few years to when I began rock climbing. My brother was becoming an avid climber and invited me to come along with him to the gym where he climbed. I fell in love with climbing that first day he brought me to the gym. I loved how I was engaging and strengthening my muscles and each route was like a dance, a puzzle, figuring out the next step to reach the end of the route and each move so fluid and strong. I quickly became a member and was at the gym climbing 2-3 times a week sometimes even more. Then I found out the gym had a yoga studio, say what?!! I found a class that worked with my schedule and again brought my brother along with me. This is when I met Taylor. A spunky, no fucks given kinda chick. I fell in love with her classes. I was there every week on my mat ready for her next lesson. I loved how she ran her classes. She worked with our needs, our problem areas; which was good for me since I often had problem areas due to my back. She then turned them into a solid, flowing class that often kicked my butt and my abs. But I didn’t care I had found my light.

I ended up moving to Ohio, sometimes I still wonder why. But I am starting to see the importance of the move. In January of 2017 I began my YTT or my yoga teacher training with another lovely lady Carrie. Her passion, her knowledge, her voice are inspiring. From day one she reminded us to be 100% authentic all the time. She encouraged us to be the best versions of ourselves and that teaching was about authenticity, about finding your own voice in the yoga community and to never leave your own practice hanging. Just because I teach yoga now it is still important for me to find time to work in my practice.

My yoga practice is far from perfect coincidentally just like me. I often describe myself as an organized mess. My practice is often sloppy and unbalanced. In the winter I am much more ridged and stiff. My body seizes up. I ache all of the time. I never feel fully balanced. I do what I can, when I can. I have been practicing yoga for about 9 years now on and off.  And there are still days when I wake up and can’t perform as well as the day before. That is life. That is yoga. Our bodies are constantly changing from day to day. Along with that our practice will change from day to day. I have learned to accept this fact. It wasn’t easy to accept at first. I was frustrated. I demanded better. Then I learned to let go.

I have always been very flexible. I am now learning that I could be hyper extending my body, which in the long run is not a good thing. When I practice I am often off balance. I struggle through vinyasa type classes. But when I learned to let go the poses came more naturally. I wasn’t forcing myself into poses my body wasn’t ready for. And when I was ready I went into them with fluidity and grace. My yoga is for me. My body is not the same as someone else and neither is yours. I think that is a very important rule of thumb to keep around when practicing yoga. Not every body is the same, my body is different than the person standing next to me as well as the person at the front of the class doing every bind and pose perfectly. There are days when I can do every bind and every pose perfectly, but not every day. During these times I do not judge my performance or compare it to anyone else’s.

Yoga is a continuous practice. To get more in touch with your practice you have to do just that practice. Great gymnasts don’t give up because they aren’t flexible. They did not start out flexible it takes them years of repetitive practice to become flexible enough to do the moves, to do their routines. Same goes with any professional, semi-professional or amateur to be good at what they do, to go out and perform it takes years of practice. Yoga is the same way. Your body will build the muscle it needs to move into the poses when you continuously practice. You do not need to be flexible to begin yoga that will come with time. All you need is an open heart and a willingness to practice. If you want to do yoga you will do yoga, if you do not want to do yoga you won’t do yoga. There are no other factors.

xo
Namaste

Remember to only do what you feel comfortable doing. Yoga is not a competition. It is a practice. If something feels uncomfortable don't do it. Honor your body and yourself.