Do any of your (non-yoga practicing) friends, family, colleagues ever ask you WHY you practice yoga? What do you say? How do you explain it?

Why yoga? What does it do for you? Why would you want to practice yoga 3, 5, 7 times per week? Why don’t you just go to the gym? Why is yoga better than exercise?

I was exposed to yoga back in college, but didn’t really start practicing yoga until many years later after my daughter was born. I found myself thrust into a life of giving of myself in every possible way. A friend dragged me to Bikram hot yoga. I can’t say I liked it the very first time, but it felt like a healthy physical challenge. I hadn’t been working out in the gym for quite some time, which brought guilt since I had been professionally trained in college.

As an empath and survivor of major trauma, I had such immense compassion for everyone’s pain that I lived, breathed, operated from my heart. But I had not learned how to hold compassion for or take care of my own self. Here I found myself overweight, low self-esteem, lost and confused in life, frustrated with a bad marriage, step-daughter and new baby girl relying on me, unfulfilling job, far from all family… the list goes on.

Bikram yoga became a healthy challenge for me, in several ways: trying to make time for it, facing myself in the mirror for 90 minutes as I process through the mental chatter, finding money to pay for it, being able to physically do the poses, learning how to breathe the way they were teaching, finding ways (or acceptance) to modify poses to meet my limitations, and more. It slowed me down, even if it were only for 90 minutes. I got back in touch again with my own body. Eventually, I got myself back in the gym as well, to enhance strength training and lose the extra weight. The two practices complemented each other nicely. It also slowly shifted from just a physical practice to more of a mental practice as well. I became aware of the things I was pushing down or ignoring in my life, and started to process some of the mental and emotional baggage I was carrying.

After dynamics with the studio changed, leaving me without childcare, I no longer had that community of familiar faces. I ended up moving away and seeking a new yoga home. As a single mother living in DC working full time, the idea of spending lots of money at a studio (that I couldn’t afford), hiring a babysitter, and not spending the time with my child were all discouraging and kept me away, but I missed the practice. I missed the connection with my own body. I missed the challenge. One of my best friends from home had just finished their yoga teacher training, and, with the stories of some of the things they had learned (like Chakras, energy, meditation), I was deeply intrigued. I had ZERO interest in becoming a teacher, but there was something about it, some almost mystical feeling, that was alluring. I researched far and wide, and ended up finding an amazing teacher offering a 200 hour teacher training right there in the DC area, who had a background in ALL THE THINGS – Yoga and Yoga therapy, Ayurveda, Jyotish Astrology, Energy Healing, and more. I didn’t really know what any of it meant, but the healing aspect of her background was what pulled me in. I wanted to learn more about yoga, beyond the physical aspects that are most often portrayed.

A 200 hour yoga teacher training is only a drop in the bucket. For some, it’s very basic with a ton of emphasis on anatomy, physical postures, etc. For us, it had this entire dimension of life beyond any comprehension of my current reality. It was mind blowing, and also extremely confusing at first. But it opened me up to seeing life in a completely different perspective. It aligned me with some philosophies that somehow just FELT true. It was like they held a wisdom that the inner part of me somehow already knew. It was also monumental in how I LOOKED at yoga. It was no longer primarily physical in intention or practice. It was SO MUCH MORE.

Cliff hanger! Just kidding. I have to go teach! Stay tuned for the story continued in the next blog 😂

In the meantime, PLEASE reply and tell me: why do you practice yoga? Or why do you want to practice yoga? What do you believe about it, have heard about it? What have you experienced from it? Why is it important to you? What does it do to you? TELL ME ALL THE THINGS! Inquiring minds want to know 😂

Much love, xoxo

Jess

p.s. There are so many ways for you to access this magic we have to share, like our Weekly Classes! In this busy graduation week, book yourself some down time to let go of some of the stress with a Gentle or therapeutic yoga class or restorative yoga session. There is also Yoga Nidra with Tamila this coming Sunday, 11am-12pm - definitely a great way to soothe the nervous system and get a break! We believe in yoga, and we believe in YOU!