I am often asked why I practise yoga. I find it difficult to give the answer as it is multi-layered and very personal. I suppose the quick and easy answer is that practising yoga makes me feel good. In truth, there is so much more that the practice does for me.
Whether in the stillness of meditation or whilst sweating through various asanas and vinyasas, yoga forces me to become aware of my breath, my heart rate, blood pressure, lung capacity, muscles and the other vital functions of my body. I've learned to listen to my body. This, in turn, has helped me to slow down off the mat, to become aware of what is happening in the environment around me. Countless times during the day we ask those around us, "How are you?" But how often do we listen to and hear the answer? Yoga helps me not only to listen to my body, but to listen to and hear others. It clears my mind so that I can take the time to be open and receptive to those around me.
Another reason that I choose yoga over all other forms of exercise is my back. For the last 10 years I have struggled with disc problems in my lower back. I had chronic pain for years and have been to countless physio-therapists, orthopaedic surgeons, chiropractors, acupuncturists, massage therapists...you get the idea. Regular yoga practise has been the single most effective 'treatment' of the compressed discs in my back. The movement and freedom I feel with regular practise is unmatched. In fact, if I go more than a week without doing yoga, the pain in my back is a shocking reminder that I need to unroll my mat and do some sun salutations.
The emotional benefits of doing yoga are what I find the most difficult to explain. During and immediately after the practice I feel euphoric; it's almost as if I have taken some sort of drug. My skin glows, I can't stop smiling, the tension in my neck and shoulders release and I just feel love and light and happiness emanating from my very being. Sounds crazy, right? Several years ago while attending Mass, our priest asked the congregation to sit quietly with their hands in their laps, palms up, close the eyes and become aware of God's presence within each of us. You can call the presence God or the force of the universe or the essence of good but whatever you call it, I believe that we all have this light -as well as darkness- within us. What yoga does for me is to help this light, this presence to brighten and strengthen and spread throughout my mind, my body and my soul so that it dominates my very being. As granola and hippy as it all may sound, these feelings of light and love make sense given that the word 'yoga' means 'yoke' or 'connection' of the mind, the body and the soul. Through my yoga practice I feel that the various areas of my being become reconnected and work together on the same path, toward the same goal.
Now as a yoga teacher, I get to share this light and connection with others. In a previous post I shared that I was struggling to decide what to do with my career path as yoga teaching brings great satisfaction but little financial reward. I think I have now found a good blend of yoga teaching and classroom language teaching. I feel blessed to be able to share a practice that has made such a profound and positive difference in my life. I hope that my students also benefit from the happiness, light and love I feel.
