3 Life Lessons I Learned from Yoga.

I began attending yoga classes regularly in 2018. In addition to the benefits you’d expect – increasing flexibility and strength, slowing down, getting centered, breathing…hmmm, actually, the list of benefits is really quite long, but I digress. My main point is I have learned a lot on the yoga mat that I can apply to life and I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned with you. Whether you are a yogi or not, everyone will benefit from these life lessons.

1. Props are your friend. My first yoga class was Gentle Yoga. I learned to look at the instructor’s mat when I entered the studio. She had all the props we might need during the session (e.g., blocks, straps, blankets, bolsters, balls, etc.). I learned the props were to support me. They are to prevent strain or overworking muscles. Everybody uses them. There is no shame in them. One day you may need the props and another day you can do the exact same pose and not need them. Every day the body needs something different.

Life Lesson learned – Ask for help. I don’t know where the notion came from that we need to suffer or bear burdens alone. I’m gonna say it – that’s ridiculous. From my experience, people love helping others and friends especially love to help. When it’s too much for you, use your props (aka your peeps) and ask for help.

2. A little bit every day is better than a lot occasionally. My class was 90 minutes. That’s already a big chunk of time. It filled quickly so in an effort to get a spot, I was arriving up to 15 minutes early. I loved this class but by the time I added the drive, I was committing over 2 hours. That meant I couldn’t attend regularly. I tried to attend at least once a week but this was not ideal.

Fast forward to the pandemic and no more in-person yoga. It took some time, but I finally found Yoga with Kassandra on Youtube. She has sessions as short as 5 minutes. I found 10 minutes first thing in the morning and 15 minutes before bed works perfectly for my schedule. This has been my routine for months now and I have kept it up nearly every day. By committing to very short classes two times daily, I have formed a new healthy habit and increased my strength and flexibility. My posture may be a little better too – woot woot!

Life Lesson learned – Sometimes to make big changes we need to start small. Small changes daily are more impactful and more maintainable than large changes that can be overwhelming. What small thing can you do today to make change?

3. There’s always more to release. It’s not unusual for me to be in a passive pose and think I’ve relaxed every muscle as much as possible only to find when the instructor says “Can you release a little more?” Why, yes, yes I can!

Life Lesson learned – The more I release, the more calm/relaxed/better I feel. AND There is always something more I can release – grudges, stories that don’t serve me, items I no longer need/use/want, saying ‘yes’ to too many asks/meetings, etc. How about you? What can you release?

So off you go. I invite you to use these life lessons daily and as an aside, I highly recommend yoga.

Until next time ~ Namaste.