Since I started teaching yoga, I am amazed by the friends, family, and strangers I meet that think they can’t do yoga because they aren’t flexible or meditate because they can’t stop their mind from thinking. I think to myself, some people do know this about me, if people only knew how inflexible I was when I first started yoga or the truth that meditation isn’t about stopping the thoughts. The thing is, the body was designed to move and the mind was designed to think. And the best news I get to share with them is this YOGA IS FOR EVERYONE!!
When is the best time to start yoga? Right now! Yoga is a personal practice and we begin where we are, when we’re ready. The first yoga class I ever went to, I also experienced the deep stretch aka pain in every pose. My body wobbled, fell down, and shook throughout. The first few times of going to a yoga class we are learning what it means to link the mind with the body. I was constantly looking around to see what everyone else was doing. In the beginning, our mind isn’t connected to the body in the same way it becomes after we develop a consistent yoga practice. In the beginning, we are learning our rights from our lefts. In the beginning, we are learning what the heck warrior one means in comparison to warrior two. Like with all things, with repetition and practice we grow and what was one unknown and challenging becomes known and easier.
The truth about meditation… When to begin? RIGHT NOW! The mind is always going to generate and create thoughts. Studies suggest we have anywhere from 60,000 – 80,000 thoughts a day with over a third of the same repeated thoughts from yesterday. The thing is, the mind is like a butterfly ( or sometimes a hummingbird ) that flies from one flower to another, all day long. With meditation, we don’t stop the thoughts. We watch the thoughts come and practice to let the thoughts go as soon as we become aware of the them. I like to think of the thoughts like clouds in the sky. Some days the wind is blowing the clouds by at a rather rapid rate and other days the clouds stay stagnant and hang out longer. Some thoughts are easier to watch, witness, and let go of than others depending on how attached we are to the thoughts that come. How close is this thought to your heart and what you choose to focus on? When we meditate, we become aware of what we are focusing on more than others. We get to see clearer where our life energy and focus is going. Like with all things, the more we practice the easier it becomes.
With yoga and meditation, the beauty is that the practice is a mirror reflection for our life. Some days, there is a HUGE storm, its windy, dark, cloudy, and dark. Other days, the water is completely calm, not a cloud in the sky, the sun is shining, and bright. When we show up and practice regularly we see that, like life, not everyday is going to be easy and breezy..And then there are those days, where you can’t remember your last thought and you found strength and stability in every posture.
How to start? Start. In todays world, there is an abundance of APP for yoga and meditation on our phones, there are you tube videos, and online subscriptions like YogaGlo and Gaia Experience. I will say, even though scary and vulnerable, the best way is to try out several yoga studios in your area until you find the studio, or teacher, that make you feel at home. We all relate and connect to different teachers and styles. Find what resonates with you. Being seen and witnessed in your yoga journey is extremely important to make sure your alignment is correct and to be able to ask questions that arise for you as you begin to take the journey of learning more about yourself, the body and the mind. A teacher is crucial. I will share more about this in another article.
Yoga for EVERYone. Yoga for ALL ages. Yoga for ALL people.
Why? Because you get to step back into the driver seat of your life. You become the witness to your mind and consciously choose what you fill your life and mind up with. That is what we want to teach you at Blu Hour Retreat through Yoga, Meditation and Coaching.