The power of yoga

While yoga has been a part of my life for many years, I only recently began to grasp it's true power.  It is difficult to describe how I feel after a yoga class.  It isn't the same feeling that I get after a spin class or after getting my butt whipped from a boot camp.  I feel deep peace and contentment.  I feel happy in my head, happy in my body, happy in my heart.  This is going to sound strange, but I feel like I have this protective calm that wraps around me and protects me from the un-necessities of life.

So, here is a short history lesson...  There is evidence of yoga as early as 3000 B.C.  The word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word "Yuj" meaning to yoke, join or unite. This implies joining or integrating all aspects of the individual - body with mind and mind with soul - to achieve a happy, balanced and useful life, and spiritually, uniting the individual with the supreme.

But, what is yoga actually doing to make me feel the way I do?  With any physical activity, respiration and circulation in body are increased.  This effects the lymphatic system and helps draw out toxins. So on physiological level, the physical activity of yoga detoxes the body.  When you couple this with deep and rhythmic breathing, it has an influence on the parasympathetic nervous system.  It helps to align the mind and the body so that you stay calm and focused.  So it's physically stimulating but mentally grounding.  That is why I walk out of a yoga class feeling alive but centered.

Of course, it didn't happen over night.  When I first started going to my yoga studio, my inner perfectionist and my inner critic joined me.  They compared me to the more advanced students.  Or they looked for praise when they felt I was "doing a good job".  But, that isn't what yoga is about.  It is not a race or a competition.  It is not about struggle...  instead, it's about surrender.  It's about embracing where your body is today.  That was a hard and slow lesson to learn, but the calm and silence that now accompany my yoga practice are completely worth it.

If you haven't tried yoga, I highly recommend it.  And beware, it's addictive.  I never thought I'd say this - but give me yoga any day instead of a slice of chocolate cake, a glass of red wine, or a new pair of designer shoes!