Do you have a daily or a consistent yoga practice? Once I added a daily yoga practice as a habit, a commitment, I noticed many powerful changes happening. These changes came to be on their own, as I worked my way through twists and balances. When I started my yoga practice, I started with the simple goal of becoming more fit. What I have come out with almost twenty years later is life-changing. I'm writing this so maybe yoga can do the same for you.
1. Increased Flexibility
Once I started a consistent yoga practice, I saw a tremendous increase in flexibility. I was an extremely un-flexible person before yoga, even as a young person. A memory that had been long forgotten but that a friend brought back to my attention was being so un-flexible in middle and high school sports. Beginning a daily yoga practice increased my entire body flexibility. When you think of flexibility, you don't really think of your back muscles or core muscles, but I noticed through all the twists and turns that my back flexibility improved greatly.
Another realization that helps here is the realization that you can't get good at something until you master it. Repeated practice and dedication to learning something new and then mastering it takes time, patience and hard work. People who are flexible or strong have obviously taken the time and dedication to improve themselves and we can all achieve the same!
I started with a daily yin yoga practice at first. This unlocked all the tight muscles all over my body. Yin yoga is a type of yoga that is slow paced with deep stretches. You hold a pose for several minutes at a time or even up to twenty minutes long. It is a mostly seated practice. Yin yoga targets your deep connective tissues, like your fascia, ligaments, and joints. It also teaches you to sit with your thoughts and enter into a meditative state.
Yin Yoga 101: Everything You Need to Know About The Practice | mindbodygreen
2. Release of Emotions
I never would have thought of releasing my emotions during yoga. A younger me was focused on physical strength and improvement in appearance. Once I started practicing often, I was able to release some trapped emotions. I was able to focus in on things that hurt me in the past even as a young child and work on releasing that trapped emotion. I took a yoga course called "Open your Heart" and throughout this 21-day course I was able to physically release trapped emotions within me. A younger version of myself was not aware that we can physically hold on to things that we no longer need to hold onto. Yoga is one way that allows you to look into your heart and soul, dive deep and realize things that you need to let go of.
Looking into my inner child through meditation is another way that I was able to realize and also reflect on some things, learn from what happened in the past, and let it go. By releasing those emotions, I feel much more emotionally regulated and able to care for my children without accidentally yelling at them in a moment of strong emotion. For me personally, my realization that yoga was more than exercise first began with a yin yoga, the "Open your Heart" course and also through meditation. According to Can You Experience an Emotional Release During Yoga? (bodynbrain.com) "Yoga releases emotions by breaking up what we like to call “energy blocks.” These energy blocks often stem from emotions, traumas, and memories we’ve suppressed over time—even those you may be unaware of."
I was one of those people who had a ton of harmful energy stored within myself. If you have an outlet for releasing stored energy within yourself, you might already be releasing those negative energies and not experiencing what I personally experienced. If you do not have an outlet to release negative emotions or feeling, you might keep that stored in your body and you need to find the best way for you personally to release and let go.
3. Connection to my Spirit
I don't know how often I connected with my inner spirit as a younger version of myself. Somewhere along the way I lost a little bit of that connection. I now realize that being intentional and making yourself a priority is a key factor in your connection to your spirit. If we constantly distract our mind from what is happening within us, pushing feelings away instead of feeling them, we are also pushing away our internal self and our connection to our spirit.
While moving through yoga poses or sitting in meditation, you are given the gift of introspection. This will allow you to connect your body and spirit for self-discovery. Learning to sit with your thoughts is not easy all the time. Gaining realizations through meditations or yoga practices might be difficult. But it also offers growth and knowledge that you will never want to give back. Truly connecting to your own self is life-changing and you might not fully understand it until you've been able to go through it.
According to The Spiritual Side of Yoga – What it Means and How to Achieve it – Himalayan Yoga Institute, "Yoga is deeply rooted in spirituality and many of the postures have deeper objectives that go beyond simple stretching and strengthening of muscles. The holistic effect that is attained through yoga enables practitioners to not only improve their physical strength and flexibility, but also their emotions, mentality and concentration."
4. Confidence
Once you start your daily yoga practice, you will probably see your confidence grow! I was able to realize and reflect on many things throughout my yoga practice and also my meditation practice. Connecting with your inner self, your spirit will help you to grow confidence. You become aware of things that you were once not aware of within yourself and this causes you to become more connected to your inner self, increasing your confidence.
Feeling more comfortable in your body, with increased movement and flexibility also contributes to your increased confidence. You feel better moving around and less like you will get injured making fast movements. When you have tight muscles and stored tension/painful energy, you are more likely to injure even your neck by moving quickly. Once you release some of that, you can move around with more ease.
According to https://aurawellnesscenter.com/2023/10/04/yoga-for-developing-self-confidence/, "The holistic principles involved in living a Yogic lifestyle, help foster a healthy attitude, by strengthening the mind and body through a variety of controlled mental and physical exercises, which, in turn, can lead to developing or restoring belief in one’s self and one’s capabilities." Although developing self-confidence comes from within, yoga provides you with the tools needed to build your confidence! You might even find it happening naturally on its own as you go through your yoga journey.
5. Healthier Lifestyle
Once you commit to a daily yoga practice, you will find yourself reaching for a healthier lifestyle. You are fixing several components of your health when practicing yoga, from emotional, mental to physical. You might find as you continue practicing yoga that you crave healthier choices.
Once you develop a regular yoga practice and become more involved with all aspects of yoga, you naturally start to lean towards a healthier lifestyle. You might first start with doing a yoga session daily which gets your exercise in for the day. You start to add in mediations and more of the spiritual aspect of yoga, realizing that your body craves the daily movement. Through many meditations you might make some self-realizations and grow as a person.
A yogic lifestyle is generally a healthier lifestyle, so without really working too hard you can achieve a healthier lifestyle by becoming more intertwined with your yoga journey. You can access many recipes that are aligned with the yoga lifestyle that will give your body the fuel and power it needs without the excess chemical, preservatives or harmful ingredients.
According to https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/yoga-health-benefits, "Focusing on controlled movement and breathing prepares the body and mind for meditation, with an approach to a quiet mind that allows silence and relief from everyday stress. When practiced regularly, yoga can become a powerful and sophisticated discipline for achieving physical, mental and emotional wellbeing."
