I’ve been doing Yoga for a decade. Here’s why I keep going back.

What’s your longest relationship outside of Friendships and Family?

As a serial monogamist (I have had a decent handful of boyfs over the years…the longest I’ve been single since I was 18? maybe 6 months if that!) Yoga is the longest intimate relationship I’ve ever had…

But don’t be too sad for me, really these last 10 years have symbolised more than just an integration with a discipline - my relationship with Yoga symbolises my active + aware relationship with myself and my wellness.

Uhuh Honey.

When I rocked up to my first class there was no knowing that Yoga would be become my main squeeze. I don’t think my intention was to create a profound connection to my soul, to heal my relationship with food, my body and create deep appreciation for it; or to understand the depth or our interconnected consciousness via breath, stillness and movement! I’m pretty sure I just wanted to show off that I could do the splits, but hey, sometimes you go to the shop for milk and bread and come out with all the ingredients for an Italian style 6 course meal - wine pairings to boot! I did not foresee that my commitment to Yoga would grow into an epic romance, one characterised by a curiosity and internal inquiry and of course, the continued prioritising my own joy!

I know this is truly the cheesiest thing a Yoga teacher can say, apologies in advance, but I believe that if everyone had a practice where they learnt to observe themselves through a kinder, more accepting lens, the world would be a much better place. If everyone practiced Yoga, we would all be far more content and happy.

There. I said it and what’s more is that I really bloody believe it.

(I told you it would be cheesy! )

This practice has the immense power to heighten the quality of our lives. Like all good relationships, a Yoga practice can help us to feel supported, confident and resilient. And like a teen whose just started snogging the face off their first romantic partner, I won’t shut the f&*k up about it because I know that it can add buoyancy when we need it most.

Sharing my darling friends, is after all, caring.

Below I’ve summarised a few of the BIG BENEFITS I’ve noticed from my regular Yoga practice. The things that keep me coming back to my mat and will (hopefully) continue to as this epic romance spans over many decades yet to come.

(Oh + next week I’ll follow up with a post on HOW you can cultivate hitting up the Yoga mat on the regs. STAY TUNED)

1. I’m a better friend to myself (+ others too!)

I think this happens due to both a top down (brain to body) and bottom up (body to brain) approach, as Bessel van der Kolk of The Body Keeps the Score would say. Top down is due to the nature of watching our thoughts. We learn to observe ourselves and over time we can become better at spotting those pesky, unfair or unkind thought patterns. Once we can see them as they arrive we can knock them on the head or at least we can challenge them with a bit of counter argument.

The bottom up part is due to the practice of Ahimsa which is Sanskrit for non-harming and is integral to Yoga. When we practice, we are looking to avoid harm to our bodies and a good teacher (I would hope) is encouraging you to move and breathe from a place kindness and compassion to yourself and your body. This is truly baseline stuff - I actually don’t think you can really embody Yoga without at least an awareness of how kind and compassionate you are being to yourself. It’s not about being perfect here, but ratehr creating the awareness so that we can tread lighter and kinder.

In my experience, over time and with good instruction, there’s no way that this won’t begin to integrate into how we speak to ourselves and that generally spills into our interactions with others.

2. I’ve gotten stronger - physically, emotionally and mentally.

I know, we think Yoga, we think flexibility! Sure babes; totally reasonable link to make but can I introduce you to my good friend strength?

I’m by no means the strongest Yoga practitioner out there, but without my practice there is literally no chance I would be as strong as I am now! Prior to Yoga I had an awful relationship with exercise. I only ever did it to “lose weight” or punish myself. There was no joy to it - so I find it quite unlikely that I’d be moving my body to the capacity I do now without my one true love.

A teacher once said to me that the amazing thing about becoming stronger is that you don’t notice it. What you notice is things becoming easier.

I can apply this to my chaturangas and boat poses (sure) but also the periods in my life that have been objectively hard (break ups, grief, uncertainty) have felt smoother (for the most part) than they used to. Maybe that’s a symptom of ageing, and I don’t mean to be arcane, but I can’t help but have a sneaking suspicion that Yoga has had something to do with it too.

3. My life has tangible and pervasive meaning and purpose.

Yoga taught me to find meaning in what can be a pretty bleak life at times. Natural disasters happen; wars rage on; people get ill; Turtles get straws stuck in their noses. Horrible shit happens all the time and the world can feel big and your impact can seem insignificant, but via my Yoga practice I have created an awareness of the ways in which I can make this small, short life, feel meaningful.

Through practice I have learnt about the joy of appreciating the small things via gratitude; to notice the wonder of being alive; to go out of my way to be kind to people; to lean into the joy and satisfaction that comes from living a life aligned with service. Sure, I’m probably not going to end the war in Ukraine or cure cancer, but I can focus on the areas of my life where I do make a difference. I can be more present and compassionate in the communities closest to me and I can take time to truly recognise the poignant flickers of joy, gratitude and love I feel when I feel them. It is about where I choose to place my focus and in what light; doing what I can and then trusting the process.

4. I always feel a little bit better than I did before practice.

Ah the post Yoga glow! That feeling of being present, relaxed and goddamn grounded with a hefty pinch of Zen Master if you’re lucky! I can guarantee that whenever I get my butt on the mat for Asana, Pranayama or Meditation I am going to feel a bit better than before I started. Even if that’s just 1% better! There will be a shift in my state and that shift is, for slightly addictive types like yours truly, the best of the best drugs out there.

Yoga may reduce the SNS (Sympathetic Nervous System) and increase the PNS (Parasympathetic Nervous System), resulting in a reduction in heart rate and blood pressure, says Greenberg. Your brain takes cues from your body (and vice versa, of course), so when your body is calming down, your brain gets the message that all is well. - NBC News (read the whole article here -its a goodie!)

So this, amongst other bio-chemistry neurobiology wizardry, is why Yoga makes you feel so freekin’ good!! It’s a practice full of what those Andrew Huberman types call ‘BioHacks’ for optimisation. Count me in!

Wanna learn more about the PNS and SNS? I’ve got an article for that!

5. Yoga has healed and continues to heal my relationship with my body.

Like so many of us, I had a very messed up relationship with my body from as early as I can remember until I was in my mid twenties. Unlike some people with eating disorders, I never reached a worryingly low weight so my eating disorder was not particulalry visible however is ravaged my mind and made me accutely aware of the negative impact on my mental health. My behaviour and attitude around food, eating and exercise was totally fucked up and tied to shame and ultimately my sense of self and my value system. It has took me some time to break that stuff down, but break it down I did and best believe Yoga was there almost every step of the way, teaching me to care and appreciate myself one breath at a time.

Yoga can offer us a space where we get to move our bodies as celebration. A practice where we can explore the unique and ever-changing poetry of our physical narrative with all its quirks and imperfections! Yoga has taught me to appreciate all that me body is - not just the perceived value of its shape but the value of all its functions. If I’m feeling in a funk about my body (it happens to all of us!) stepping into movement is a sure-fire way for me to shake that off and re-remember the true joy of having a body.

So there you have it! Check out the blog next week for my 5 favourite ways to create a regular Yoga practice Habit. And if you liked this read do go ahead and leave me a comment below or give this a share or read soemthing else I’ve written - it’s all appreciated!

BIG LOVE