The start of a new year usually involves setting resolutions or intentions. As I looked back over 2020, and began setting my personal and professional goals for the year ahead, I realized what a big role yoga played in getting me through the past 10 months.
I've written blog posts and emails previously about my history with yoga. I was a
reluctant yoga practitioner when I took my first private class over 10 years ago. I didn't embrace yoga with open arms, but rather with skepticism and resistance. But signing up for private classes to aid in my recovery from knee surgery, was one of the best decisions I've ever made, and has ultimately altered the course of my life.
I turned to yoga out of desperation, and the need to heal my body. I fell in love with yoga for not only the physical benefits (strength, flexibility, improved posture and balance, learning how to breathe properly, and recovering more quickly from injury and strain), but also because it helped me to slow down, sit with my thoughts, and tap into the wisdom within. Yoga was a tool to get to know myself, and ultimately to show up in the world from a place of truth.
About a year ago, I asked my students for one word or phrase about what yoga means to them, or what brings them to their mat, and here's what they said:
Strength
Calm mind
Healing
Self-love
Yoga makes me feel more like myself
Grounding
Stress relief
Peace, love and beauty
When students share with me what yoga has done for them, or what it means to them, it touches my heart. I understand why those who have never tried yoga are reluctant at first. I was too. I didn't fully understand what yoga was or what it meant. I came to learn that yoga is more of a lifestyle than a form of exercise. Practicing yoga has done just as much for me off the mat (aka in 'real life'), as it has on the mat.
That's why I plan to dedicate a post each month to the practice of yoga. Whether it's sharing an in-depth look at a pose ("asana") or diving into one of the other "limbs" of yoga from the Yoga Sutras, I want to provide a glimpse into this wide-world, because yoga saved me, and I whole-heartedly believe that yoga can play a significant role in healing our fractured society.
Yoga is for every-body (and mind, and soul). Did you know, I offer private classes both online and in person? For those local to Evergreen, Colorado, I can host a private class for you (and up to two other family members) at your home or at Studio B in downtown Evergreen. For non-locals, I host private classes via Zoom. Contact me today to get started.
Namaste,
Carrie
P.S. Get a taste for my style of teaching from the videos that are available to members of the Firefly Community website. It's free to be a member, and there are several yin yoga classes and a couple of vinyasa-style classes posted for you to watch at your convenience.