It’s been said that if you could only do one type of exercise, the best choice would be to do yoga.
Besides all the physical benefits yoga gives I have also learned some valuable lessons about life.
It’s hard to stretch
When I go beyond what is comfortable, it can hurt. Taking it slow helps.
You get better at something you do over and over
Yoga is my habit to take care of my body. It’s also true that if the ‘thing you do over and over’ is destructive, you become better at that too.
Yoga helps with balance
Working on both my left side and right side helps keep me in balance. The same is true relationally and politically. I must see both sides to be in balance.
Yoga takes concentration
So does life. Oh sure, you can go through life just bouncing off other people’s ideas, values, and influences, but you’ll get more out of your life when you concentrate on what you’re doing and be intentional about your choices.
Yoga takes time
Life is like that too. It takes time to learn a new skill, work on a relationship, or develop an attitude of gratitude.
Yoga takes patience
It’s important to be patient with my body as I try new poses. Life requires patience too. Patience with yourself, patience with others, and patience with the process.
Yoga quiets the mind
Being away from the phone, TV, internet, and Facebook quiets my mind. I find this very useful compared to the technological world I live in most of the time.
Calm music helps
Yoga is known for its slow mysterious music which defies traditional hymns and ballads. It floats in the background and, paired with dim lighting, helps the practitioner get to a relaxed state. Calm music helps a busy, cluttered, anxious mind too. This is scientifically proven.
The sticky mat helps keep me place
We all could use help from someone or something that will hold us in place. My mat is like friends who keep me grounded during difficult times.
Yoga gets me to bend both ways
Life does that too. It will force me to bend in different directions. Some days I bend to the right and other days to the left.
Come out of poses easily
When things hurt in life, it’s best to give yourself time to come out of them gently and slowly too.
Yoga clears my mind
It works best to stay in the moment and keep my mind clear. Enough said.
Yoga can be uncomfortable
Just a little. To get better at yoga, or better at life, make sure you are just a little uncomfortable each day.
When I get good at a move, it helps me do other ones better
Build on your strengths.