To Yoga or Not to Yoga

One of my NY goals was to begin practicing yoga again. Last week, I registered and paid a group of classes and went to my first group yoga class in 10 years. Just writing that number makes me feel old. And it makes me wonder "what took me so long?" My previous experience with yoga was so amazing that I can't believe I ever stopped. But a big move, life changes, and having kids can change your priorities in huge ways.

Practicing yoga has so many health benefits. Physical, emotional, and mental health benefits. After just one practice, I noticed these 6 benefits:

1. The biggest benefit I noticed was SELF CARE. This occurred for me in just attending the class. Scheduling the time out of my day, making the appointment, and showing up for class. Like many moms, I spend 99% of my day thinking about and taking care of everyone else. I began putting myself last when I was pregnant with my first child. And recently, I have been attempting to regain some time and mental space for myself. 
2. ADULT TIME flowed out of the first benefit. Other than my husband and a couple of friends, I spend most of my days with my kids. Adult conversation is sometimes lacking in my life. And I will admit that a lot of days even the conversation with my husband and friends is about kids. It was wonderful to go to a new place and meet new people. The women in the class were so welcoming and no one asked me about my kids. 
3. BREATH - One of the most important parts of practicing yoga is finding your breath, slowing it down, and syncing it with your movements. For me, the benefit is even more basic. I finally had the space and permission to stop and take a breath. A real breath. Not the shallow ones I take when I'm rushing around trying to do everything all at the same time. In yoga, the instructor actually encourages you to breathe deeply, feel the air as you bring it in to your body, feel it fill up your lungs, lift your diaphragm, and then gently exhale, feeling it leave your body, hopefully taking with it some of the constant negativity in this world.
4. Closely related to breath is one of my favorite benefits: MEDITATION. I have tried meditation before and honestly, I am terrible at it. I can never sit still long enough or quiet my mind. Thoughts of all I "should" be doing race through my mind. But with yoga, I am so focused on my breath and the movements that my mind becomes calm and quieter. By the end of practice, I leave wishing there was more time to "just be."
5. One of the biggest physical benefits for me is more FLEXIBILITY. I'm a runner and my hips stay pretty tight so yoga is a great way of balancing me out. I need to gain back that flexibility and limber those muscles to prevent injury. 
6. One benefit that always surprises me when I practice yoga is STRENGTH TRAINING. You use so many more muscles than you would think. I spent a good deal of time during practice trying to balance myself into a pose, with shaking muscles. The day after practice I awoke sore and feeling muscles that I never feel when I run. Yoga is a great combination of relaxation and strength training that you may not find in other workouts.

I probably could keep going because I love yoga so much. There are other benefits that I remember from practicing years ago: better balance and coordination, better posture, and so on. I cannot wait to experience these again. 

If you have never tried yoga, I would encourage you to try a class or two. I promise you that will experience more benefits to your health than you ever imagined! 

Namaste