At the start of summer, my mom very excitedly asked me to start doing yoga with her. Before this summer, I had a little experience with yoga, mostly stretching from past sports injuries. I decided to try it and if I didn't like it after a few classes then I could always just stop going. Little did I know, yoga would quickly become the best thing to happen for me this summer.
Going into the summer I had some personal problems that I was working through, and I decided to let this summer be focused on taking care of myself. Throughout the school year I had some counseling that vastly improved my mental health, but it still felt like something was missing and I couldn't figure out what it was. After months of trying to help myself feel better again, I finally found the missing key, yoga.
After my first two classes, I already felt a vast difference in my mental health. I felt happier than I have in months and truly felt like my old self again. I was shocked that it only took two classes for me see the change in myself. I was confused as well though because I couldn't quite figure out what yoga was doing for me that nothing else seemed to be able to do.
It wasn't until my second week of classes that I started to understand what yoga could do for me that no other form of exercise could. Yoga centered me. For an hour and a half each day I was able to relax, work out and not think. Yoga was the perfect combination of relaxation and working out that I didn't know I needed. By centering myself in the classes, I was able to leave them feeling mentally stronger and healthier each day.
The strangest part for me was how easy it was for me to feel at peace throughout the rest of the day. One of my greatest struggles the past few months has been how much I was overthinking things and that would lead to over stressing and panicking. For some odd reason, yoga has helped me to not have these horrible moments of anxiety anymore. I'm not a yoga expert, so I still don't completely understand why yoga has been helping me so much when other things have not had the same effect on my mental health. All I know is that I'm truly grateful for the balance yoga has been bringing to my life.
Yoga is unique because it combines spiritual awareness with working out. I believe this is partially why it helped me so much. It helped me become more aware of my body and helped me to breathe to relax myself. I am truly thankful for finding yoga this summer because I don't know where my mental health would be at this point without this spiritual form of exercise.
This quote I'm leaving you with helps me understand the importance of controlled breathing, and I hope it inspires you to explore the wonders of yoga.
"When the breath wanders the mind also is unsteady. But when the breath is calmed the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life. Therefore, one should learn to control the breath." Hatha Yoga Pradipika.
