Yoga off the mat

There is little equipment needed and almost anyone can do it. Yoga benefits all ages whether you are 10 or 100 years old. Children benefit by learning the gift of discipline and physical and mental dexterity, while also controlling adhd and autism. Seniors can benefit from increased mobility and memory. However, yoga is much more than an exercise, it is an exercise that includes the mind, body, and spirit which is rare in physical activity. Often you are asked to set an intention in the beginning of a practice, this could range to "I am going to push myself to try new things today" or taking that intention and turning it into something spiritual like offering your energy you create in your practice out to the universe or a higher power. One of my teachers said something in last weeks class that really stuck with me: "yoga is not just a practice it is a way of life, be yoga". That thought is something that benefits me personally. As I often find myself anxious and guarded, I love yoga because it allows me to have 90 minutes of clear thinking. So why not take yoga out of the studio? Nailing a headstand or the perfect crow pose feels awesome, but what are we trying to accomplish in our practice? Let your four corners of the mat ripple into your life through your daily choices. So far I have decided that a 'yoga' life is one where I I like to say that there are two kinds of pain in the world: the pain you get from doing yoga, and the pain you get from not doing it. So we can hunker down and be afraid and not change, or we can walk through the woods and face the big bad wolf to make it to grandma’s house. The practice of yoga in the wider sense is a deep willingness to live in the radical present and finding the beauty in all things. That is sometimes difficult. It takes courage.

#yoga #yogi