3 Reasons to Start Yoga Today
I can already here your excuses about how you don't have time or how you aren't flexible enough but keep on reading, as I might just change your mind.
I can't believe it's been 2 years already
I had talked about starting yoga for years but never actually committed to doing so. I had many excuses as to why I couldn't start; I'm not flexible enough, I haven't got time, I can't get into the poses the expert can and I won't be any good at it.
Completely silly reasons when I look back and just plain old excuses for not doing something I've repeatedly said I wanted to do.
When 2020 came around and we were all stuck at home, I knew I had to keep being as active as possible to support my mental and physical wellbeing. I was starting to run more and more often in order to use our one hour of freedom wisely, and yet I kept seeing Facebook post around the benefits of yoga. That's when I decided to look on YouTube to find a 30-day challenge with Yoga and that's when I came across Yoga With Adriene - YouTube. I did her 30 days of yoga and I was hooked!
Reason #1
My first reason is the benefits to your physical wellbeing. Since starting yoga, I feel more in tune with my body and what it needs. I truly believed that to do yoga, you needed to be someone super flexible. Which I can say with confidence, is not me! Through a lack of yoga and stretching, I have lost any real flexibility I had as a child, so when I first began, I had to accept that the poses I was in wouldn't look the same as the lady on the screen.
I learnt to be ok with that, I learnt to focus on how the pose felt versus how the pose looked. It would only be through continual action that I would see a change in my flexibility and after only 30 days, I was able to bend over and touch the floor without bending my legs. Two years in and the changes are small, but they've made a massive difference to my wellbeing.
Reason #2
It's the one opportunity to take a deep breath and slow right down. Most of us live on autopilot, jumping from one task to the next, chasing after kids, working late and overall, just being busy.
Making time to come onto the mat is one of the best things you can truly do for yourself. I committed to doing at least 10 minutes a day earlier this year and I really see a difference. As soon as my foot hits the mat, I can feel a sense of calm come over me. This is particularly important when I've had a crappy day in work or maybe been around a negative Nancy. Plus, there is literally a yoga for every situation, I even did one the other day called 'Yoga for when you are SICK' because I was full of a cold.
Reason #3
Another common misconception is that yoga isn't a 'real' workout. I can tell you now, yoga has left me sweaty, and breathing heavy more than once! You might not be jumping around like a HIIT session, or running around outside but, the right session can have you huffing and puffing. There's a sun salutation video I follow which is only 15 minutes long and yet I am always heavy breathing by the end and my muscles are wide awake.
In my opinion, yoga should be taught in schools to teach young persons about slowing down, connecting with their bodies and strengthening muscles. So many people get into their 30s and have issues with their backs and other areas of their bodies because we have bad posture and sit in the same positions most days. I have an office job and without yoga, my back would be screaming most of the time.
Do you do Yoga?
Are you a fan of yoga? If not, then I would recommend starting with this video right here: 10 min Morning Yoga Stretch For BEGINNERS – Day #1 (10 MIN BEGINNER YOGA) - YouTube
If you are already a yogi, let me know which reason you connected with most.
Now,
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