I thought i'd start with just a small post to say hello & welcome to my blog space! i have never used something like a blog before so excuse how 'basic' this is going to be for a while! We've all got to start somewhere right?
A bit like with yoga... How many of us as yoga students, teachers or in other fitness/health professions heard someone say or been that person whose said ' I' am not flexible enough' or strong enough, fit enough, i can vouch that i am that person!! Personally i don't think of yoga as something you need to be 'good' at. What is it to be good at something? Aren't we all just trying our best to be the version of ourselves? yoga is used and expressed by people all over the world for many reasons, learning to use their breath, delving deeper into their head & heart, maybe they are looking to increase their flexibility & build some strength, assist an injury or perhaps to take time maybe an hour of their week to find some stillness.
The beautiful gift of yoga is you make it your own practice to meet your own needs, which is why i think its so hugely important we do not compare ourselves to other peoples practice, the asana is only a very small part of yoga (i will write about other parts in the future, well i'd like too) it's so very easy for the ego to take over, i think most of us as yoga students and teachers have been there and i think seeing the ego, realising it and then being able to back off is an important part of discovering your path.
I grew up as a Rhythmic Gymnast from a young age this was my practice, i think now when i look back i think of Rhythmic Gymnastics as an art, its a hard graft, time consuming, you're constantly working, striving to be better but its beautiful, the lines created, the way in which the body is moved is not only wonderful for the spectators to see but for the student to practice the aches, pains, tiredness & tears always felt worth it.
A part of my heart holds tight my childhood as a gymnast & i think this is probably why later in life now i immersed myself in yoga.
My mother is a yoga teacher, alongside pilates, body balance & previously aerobics, Les Mills... i mean she did it all & still does. I however was now quite as interested in this type of fitness for a long while. I went through the rebellious teenage years, brat comes to mind, then the young adult who wanted to go out far too much, the fitness fanatic... spending 6 days a week in the gym 2 hours a night which i learnt the hard way does not actually make any difference... there are more effective ways to do it! i delved in and out of yoga on and off since leaving my gymnast years behind me but nothing really stuck until i reached my late 20's and it dawned on me that i was edging towards my thirties and had no passion or hobby for anything, i would watch yoga videos, think it looked beautiful but had that hmmmm can i do it, i think my gymnast head was telling me i would not get the same feeling i once loved.
I decided to take up a 6 week 'Intro to yoga' course, although like i said i had delved in the past with yoga i did not truly know what yoga style i liked and i felt it was important that i found that out so over the 6 weeks i went along and each time was asked if i practiced this alot and then explained i was on the process to find which yoga i really liked.
From there i went to many classes, workshops and found Ashtanga yoga, a traditional practice which instantly interested me, using the breath to evolve your practice but also the structure of following a set sequence, learning that and practicing until you are ready to be moved on, showing that you've worked at getting the asana to where it needs to be that dedication, that routine.
I think the discipline of my gymnast days is probably why i like the routine of life, i have struggled with routine it took over my life with food & exercise as i briefly touched on earlier but i think finding Ashtanga has helped relieved that sense of structure in my general life as i have it in my practice, i never realised just how much yoga could help your mind as much as it has i would say i practice yoga for my mind & the breath far more than my body, however my mind gets into my body as i practice yoga, it becomes one, a moving meditation they call Ashtanga & i truly feel that to my core its hard to explain but i understand why so many people want to give yoga to others & want them to experience the beauty that is your mind, breath, body, soul and ultimately anything you want it to be.
I now practice other types of yoga Yin/Yang styles where i feel i can really move in a fluid and intuitive way that i used to as a child in which i adored, that routine, structure is no longer in place quite as much and i feel yoga assisted in breaking down a wall that i do not constantly need, its helped me to grow in so many ways that i feel truly thankful for it.
I now teach Ashtanga & will next week be starting my own Yin/Yang Flow class in which i am truly so excited for being able to share an even more personal part of myself through my practice, I am super nervous but i quite like the feeling of nerves, i think they are necessary in becoming who you are.
This was meant to be short... haha! Perhaps next time i will talk about the wonderful YTT i went on.
Thank you so much for reading
C x
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