I'll admit it. I'm kind of a nerd. I like strange things. I like documentaries. I like news shows. One of those types of shows that I like is Sunday Morning on CBS. On January 3 of this year, I caught a piece on Sunday Morning about meditation. New research has shown that there are far more benefits of meditation than previously thought. Regular mediation can help you sleep better. It can improve your immune system. It helps your body to better deal with stress. Mediation can lower your blood pressure. I knew all of these things but I learned a new thing. Meditation can cause neuro-plasticity. If you are unsure what that is, it's when your brain creates new pathways to do things. It has been believed that your brain stops creating new pathways around the end of adolescence. New research is showing that even seniors are showing improvement in neuro-plasticity. If you'd like more info on this, see the following link:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-quiet-power-of-meditation/
Okay, so all of this is interesting but what am I really getting at? This is it: I'm a yogi and you should be too. Meditation and yoga go hand in hand. Have you ever wanted to take a yoga class but been too scared? You're afraid you're not flexible enough? Or that it's too complicated? Yoga can seem intimidating. I remember my first experience with yoga. I had wanted to take a yoga class for a long time but I was intimidated and I didn't want to go by myself. I put it off for months. I had a friend who had injured her back and was in physical therapy after back surgery. She had been doing yoga as part of her therapy. She kept telling me I needed to go to a yoga class. Then she said something that almost made me re-think going to a class. She told me it was like therapy. I didn't need therapy but I wanted to try yoga enough that I did it. I finally went to a class. At the end of every yoga class, you do Savasana. It's where you lay on your mat and let everything go and simply breathe. We did that and then class was over. I can remember sitting up and thinking I felt amazing. I didn't know you could feel like that. And just like that, I was hooked. That was probably around eight years ago. I've had some really amazing teachers and some that were mediocre. I have sweat and worked my muscles until they shook. I've had that mental release and been challenged beyond what I thought my limits were. And I love yoga.
I've been teaching yoga for nearly three years now. My favorite thing that anyone has ever said to me about my teaching yoga is, "Thank you for sharing your gift." I love that. And that how I feel about it. Yoga is a gift and I love sharing it. It has changed me, to my core. I have learned to breathe. It's amazing how something we are born knowing how to do can make such a difference. We breathe too shallowly. I can now "check in" with my body and know what it needs. Yoga has helped me through some tough things. It has helped me deal with my children and ADHD. I've taught them how to breathe too.
I sincerely believe that yoga is for everyone and that the world would be a different place if everyone did yoga. There would be fewer conflicts, wars, misunderstandings, hurt, etc. We would all be a litter kinder because we'd all be a little more "in tune". Don't get me wrong, it's not a universal fix. Problems would still exist but they would be smaller.
Why should you do yoga? The answer to that is different for everyone. Some people do it to work on flexibility. Some people for strength. Some do it because "everyone" else it. The answers are as different as there are people in this world but it is universal. I encourage everyone to try it. More than once. If you still don't like it, try another instructor. Just as people have different personalities, so do yoga classes. Go with an open mind and throw yourself into it. Embrace the challenge and reap the reward.
If you have questions about yoga, PLEASE ask me! I love yoga and helping people to try it out. If you have other general questions, ask those too. Thanks for checking in me. Good luck on your goals and come back again soon!
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