Do you want to get to know yourself better?

No, I mean it. Do you really want to get to know yourself better?

Yoga has a very gentle, but deep, way of helping you grow on many physical, mental/emotional and spiritual levels.

I became a yoga teacher because I didn’t know what else to do for a job. I was stressed out teaching elementary school and fantasizing about running away… far away… to a land where there was no stress.

What could I teach with less stress?

Right on!

Yoga did help me let go of stress!

It also big time taught me patience. Anyone can guess that it takes patience to teach elementary school, but to get on the floor and stay on a little rectangular mat takes the cake on a whole different type of patience.

It was fun practice, though, because it was definitely no stress!

I started to call my mat “my personal little island”. (That made it feel more like a Hawaiian vacation than a job, too.)

On your personal little island of your yoga mat, you learn to listen to your body.

For example, I had back pain for which professionals were telling me to do yoga… until they found out that I was already doing it many times a week.

The fact that yoga wasn’t helping led me to acupuncture where I learned that it was my kidneys causing the pain. This is something very important you’d like to know about your body, right?

Another physical benefit was when there were fractures on the bottoms of my feet. No more jumping off the couch or deck, and no more dance workouts! In the meantime, yoga was there for me.

Yoga also taught me that I carry stress in my shoulders and neck.

Hello headaches…

Hello downward dogs…

Goodbye headaches!

I imagine the tension falling out of my shoulders, neck and head and flowing down into my mat and from there into the earth where it can dissipate for good.

I’ve had students tell me their shoulder pain, leg pain, sinus issues, and more have resolved. I hear stories about how they can do stuff like remodel bathrooms by crawling into tiny little spaces at an age where most are opting for the couch while someone else does the work. I have grandmothers who can finally get down into a squat to pick their grandkids up off the floor.

Mentally and emotionally, yoga helps my mind chatter calm down so I can realize those persistent thoughts more vividly, and center myself around those thoughts so I can put them where they’re more beneficial (like flying away from me forever, because I don’t need them fogging up my brain!)

The best part of class is watching yogis at the end of practice, floating out of the room with what I like to call “yoga brain”. It’s the light, nothing-can-bother-me-now hazy look in the eyes.

That is the look a person has when their spirit has finally had some time to flow. We squish it down so much, and it just patiently awaits.

Physical, mental and spiritual balance can make all the difference in our lives.

Imagine if everybody meditated!

Even a yogi who goes to the gym solely for a physical practice leaves more spiritually balanced. It’s like you can’t help it. It’s what yoga does, and it’s a beautiful thing!

There are many, many different types of yoga, and no yoga is wrong yoga. There is room for many different kinds of yoga and yogis in the world. If you find the kind you love, that’s wonderful! Until then, trying out various kinds is terrific for your body and soul, and you never know what you’ll get out of it until you try!

My personal favorite is vinyasa flow, which is where we flow from one pose to another. I love deep stretches like lizard and pigeon pose, too.

At the end, I let my yogis have their savasana (or relaxation period) however they are most comfortable, which usually means flat on their back with their legs stretched out in front of them.

I personally love to sit upright and feel the buzz of spiritual energy flowing. Sometimes I even circle naturally with the energy like an upside down pendulum.

That’s the kind of buzz you get after keeping your physical and mental bodies in check… a spiritual-balance buzz. It’s the best!

Have fun becoming united to you! You’re about to discover how truly amazing you are!