Why I Love Yoga
Hi loves!
This is my first blog post and I couldn’t be more excited!! I have always been interested in blogging, and now I’ve finally jumped at the opportunity to add it to my yoga website! My goal for this blog is to share weekly insights into my journey that will inspire you to start or grow in your own yoga practice.
I wanted to take some time today to list a few reasons why I love yoga so much, & why you should love it too!
1. Yoga can be ANYTHING! Sometimes my yoga is just lying on my mat, eating mint oreos and watching Netflix, and sometimes it is an intense workout where I push myself until savasana just sort of happens. Yoga can be whatever YOU need it to be on that day or at that moment. It is all about the self-care, the style and the breathing that fits your body. Yoga is designed to help you move, create and find a balance. This reality can sometimes get lost in our busy day to day.
2. Yoga is for EVERYONE! However, a lot of people hesitate to start. Let me tell you the most common reasons that I hear for this:
--> “I have a bad (back/wrist/knee/etc) injury”: I have had friends, teachers and family members that have all been previously convinced that their injuries would inhibit them from practicing yoga. I had a wonderful time explaining to them all the ways yoga can be modified to help aid their injuries and even poses/exercises that can help in strengthening the areas they’ve injured!
--> “I’m just not very flexible”: This is almost always the first concern people have when I begin a conversation about yoga. Let me reassure you. Just like you don’t have to be able to run a marathon in under three hours to start jogging, you don’t have to be able to do a full split to start yoga. The people you see in those types of poses work at it everyday. You start yoga to advance your flexibility, not because you’re already flexible. Growing up, I was heavily involved in dance and gymnastics, which definitely pushed my limits everyday. The flexibility that I gained all those years has in large part stayed with me, but it is a constant everyday effort for me to maintain and progress my flexibility. Yoga has helped me do just that and I love sharing tips, tricks and poses that can help others advance their degrees of flexibility.
--> “Yoga seems like it’s too easy of a workout”: Some people I meet think that yoga looks monotonous and want something that is a more intense workout. The level of intensity and attentiveness of a yoga practice is all up to YOU! You can burn calories and build endurance with hot yoga, or stretch and focus your mind with restorative yoga. Yoga can be used to rejuvenate, invigorate, and awaken. It can also be used to build muscle in areas that other workouts don’t ever access. This is why many professional athletes include yoga, in some form, in their workout routines. Yoga is almost like an outline that lets you play around with what you’re going to fill it in with. There are modifications, variations and tools that can make a practice more advanced or scaled back. Because yoga is all about you, you’re the one in control of what you get out of a practice.
I hope if any of these reasons were stopping you from trying yoga that now you’re ready to give it a try!
3. Yoga can be done ANYWHERE!: I know for me, working out can sometimes be difficult because there isn’t always a gym to go or I have a busy schedule. I also wasn’t too keen on going to a yoga studio because I preferred practicing in my own space. The amazing thing about yoga is that it can be done in any environment! You don’t need special tools or equipment to be able to stretch and practice. I’ve done yoga in an airport, on my hotel bed, at a park, on a bridge, while I was camping and just about anywhere that permitted enough room for a yoga mat or my body! Yoga is something that is easy to keep up with because there are very few places where you couldn’t drop and do a quick down dog or sun salutation.
The only thing stopping you from growing, stretching, reaching and giving your body a little love is YOU! I wouldn’t be where I am today in my practice if it weren’t for the amazing teachers and friends that have helped me grow and keep reaching. I'm here for that support and I am so excited to continue to share my journey with you! If you have any questions at all please head over to my contact page and shoot me a message!
Have a fabulous week everyone!!
love & light
Bree
Wearing all Amari Active > amariactive.com
