Why Yoga?
by Roma Palmer
I regularly recommend yoga to my clients (and friends and family and anyone who will listen). Sometimes people already have a practice, or a lapsed practice. Most of the time I get a look and an eye roll. I don’t blame them. Yoga can seem like part of an alternative lifestyle. It can also seem intimidating. Yoga has seeped its way more and more into our society over the past 20-30 years, but it is still new to some. I am determined to convert everyone yet! 😀 Not really. I just want to share some information with you so you can decide for yourself if it is for you now, in the future or not at all.
I started my yoga journey when my second child was one year old. He is now 24 and I have moved toward and away from yoga at various points over the years, but I have never doubted its influence on my life or its intrinsic benefits. In our increasingly stationary society, yoga gets us moving in gentle and manageable ways so we can stay healthier and stronger for longer. In our busy lives, yoga gives us time to pause from our day-to-day activities and focus on the present moment so we can take care of our minds and bodies.
Yoga practice involves elements of strength, flexibility and balance which benefit everyone. As we age these aspects of mobility need to be maintained and improved. As one of my physiotherapists said to me ‘you need to teach your body what you expect it to do’. I love that idea, and I continue to practice it. If I don’t challenge my body to keep moving, it will become more and more limited. This past summer I completed kundalini yoga teacher training online. I’m very excited to finally have the time to complete this course, something I have wanted to do for years.
The word yoga means to ‘join’ or ‘yoke’. The implication is that through the practice of yoga our individual consciousness becomes joined with universal consciousness by joining the mind and body. Whether the consciousness part speaks to you, getting our minds and bodies working together is a valuable goal in and of itself. So many of my clients (and people in general) talk about how their mind is moving a mile a minute and seems disconnected from their body. Yoga helps you to focus on the present and focus on what your body and breath are doing. You can’t hold some yoga poses without concentration or you’ll fall over!
The benefits to yoga are many. Here are a few highlights:
Mental (mind) - breath and body alignment - for dealing with stress and trauma, engaging your parasympathetic nervous system and getting you out of fight or flight mode
Physical (body) - Strength, flexibility, balance
Spiritual (soul) - meditation and slowing your breath to take you out of your problems so you can see your situation with clearer eyes
Heart - moving better and feeling better physically and mentally to help you be a happier person and more patient and kind with others
You might not lean into yoga. You might have other practices that give you similar benefits. I would love to hear about what you do to feel better or why yoga doesn’t work for you. It is helpful for me to learn more about what does and doesn’t work for people. Please .
Namaste! 🙏