She Sweats: How Yoga Stretched Me Out

Recently I was feeling like I needed a good stretch—mentally, physically and spiritually. When I get this urge, I decide to try something new! This could be cooking a new recipe, reading a new book or experiencing a new workout! I’ve always done Yoga in the comfort of my own home by using YouTube as my yoga teacher, so when the opportunity presented itself to go to a local yoga studio and join in on a class I was ecstatic! However, I was also a tad bit fearful of doing yoga in front of real people who were probably really good at yoga. I decided to let the fear fuel me and pull me in the right direction by going to the class anyways. I’m so glad I didn’t because it ended up being a great experience and opportunity to be challenged! Yoga is a mental, physical, and spiritual exercise that originated in India. It includes breath control, simple meditation, and body movements that help your overall health and allows you to relax. Thankfully, I attended a yoga studio that didn’t push any certain kind of beliefs on me, but just allowed me to enter the studio and practice yoga with no restraints. I got the mental, physical and spiritual stretch that I was looking for and wanted to share with you guys how yoga helped me to stretch out in every area.

1. Mentally- Mentally the yoga class allowed me to become focused and present. With the teacher guiding us through each move and the calming music that was playing, I was allowed to be aware of the now and push all other thoughts and concerns out of my mind for the hour class. It also allowed me to not rush to the next position or pose but rather to be still until it was time to move.
2. Physically- Physically the yoga pushed me more than I was expecting! I was dripping sweat, my flexibility was being pushed and worked on, and I also learned what it meant to listen to your body and let my body sink into whatever position we were working on.
3. Spiritually- Spiritually, the yoga class allowed me to be still and listen and converse with my Heavenly Father. I truly believe, no matter what religion you are, we all could use a little help in this area of listening and talking to our creator! At the end of the class the teacher had us all lay on our mats for about 5 minutes in silence and encouraged us to just listen to our spirits and our bodies. I took that opportunity to talk to Jesus and pray and listen. It was marvelous.

I hope you all are encouraged and go out there this week and find something new to do regarding your exercise regimen. I highly suggest putting yoga into your exercise regimen because it truly is a powerful way of being aware of all 3 parts of our bodies-body, spirit and soul!

With love and big smiles,

torrie.