Blog #1: The Benefits of Yoga

Hello, welcome to my first blog post. I am so excited that you are here so we can learn and evolve together. I have been endlessly searching in my mind for what topic to start off writing about, as there are so many. However, I did want to start with something that I have grown more passionate about over the last couple of years. It has been about two years that I have joined a gym and the main reason why I love my gym so much is that it offers many different types of classes, especially a lot of various yoga classes. The selection is open and diverse, where they have beginner and intermediate to advanced classes and they also have a selection of hot yoga classes as well.

At first, I was a little closed to the idea of starting a yoga class, as I did not know what to expect and I did not want to make a fool of myself because I did not know what I was doing. When I look back at that time now, I can identify that I had many self-limiting beliefs about challenging myself and starting new things, which can be uncomfortable and vulnerable. I often did not want to push myself to my limits because I felt very safe and comfortable in my own little life that I built. I did not realize that this was the beginning of my yoga journey, and that I would evolve and grow more and more as I continued to develop my skills and practice in yoga.

Here is a summary of many of the physical benefits that can happen and that I experienced as my yoga experience evolved:

·         Improved flexibility

·         Enhanced circulation

·         Increased muscle strength and tone

·         Improved balance and coordination

·         Increased endurance

Here is also a summary of the mental health benefits that can happen and that I experienced as my yoga experience evolved too:

·         Stress relief

·         Mental clarify and focus

·         Mood boost from endorphin release and sense of accomplishment

·         Greater emphasis on mind-body connection

As a cautionary note for those thinking of exploring yoga or hot yoga, it is important to be aware of some of the drawbacks that include:

·         Risk of dehydration

·         Potential heat exhaustion

·         Check with doctor if you have a history of heart conditions, high blood pressure, and heat sensitivity

Now that we got most of the common physical and mental benefits out of the way, I want to focus on some of the lesser-known experiences that you may be interested in learning more about. The first realization that I wanted to reflect on is setting an intention for a yoga practice. Most yoga teachers may say this in the beginning of practice, to “set an intention for the practice.” I remember that I set one intention early in my yoga journey and it taught me so much. I set an intention in the beginning of the class to keep my eyes closed for the length of the class. I was not sure if I would be able to do this because I never did it before, but I set the intention and I completed it successfully. After that yoga class was done, I opened my eyes and I was so happy and proud of myself that I set a goal and I had the discipline and dedication to follow through on it. This experience showed me the power that yoga can have over you and your life’s goals.

The next realization that I learned and wanted to share is that yoga is primarily a breathing practice. Yes, yoga often involves engaging in many different poses and many of them can be very challenging, but the most important factor and variable is to focus on your breathing and to be able to breathe through the poses and challenges. Some of the most valuable lessons in yoga is the realization that you can breathe through most of the challenging poses and you can accomplish them successfully. There have been so many poses that I have been struggling with and when I focus on my breathing and remain calm, I am often more likely to accomplish this challenging pose.

The final realization that I wanted to reflect on that I am still working on intentionally is the importance of keeping my ego in check and not always comparing myself to others. It is sometimes easy to let our egos overtake us and to start to compare ourselves to others and to try and show off to do more advanced yoga moves or to show off all one’s progress and how long they can hold a pose. However, what I soon realized that it is important to do your own yoga practice and imagine that you are the only one in the class and not to focus on the others in the class. I have learned that others will be either more and less advanced than you and that is alright. And what I just realized as I wrote that last sentence, is that yoga is not about beating other people, it is about your own journey and experience. The beautiful thing about yoga is that someone could be “less advanced” or “less capable” than you, but may still have a better emotional and spiritual experience than you, as it is not a competition.

I have not even gone into some of the true foundations of yoga at this point, but I just wanted to touch on a few points that I discussed in this first blog post. I hoped you enjoyed learning about some of my yoga experiences in the last couple of years, as it has been an incredible journey that I am excited to keep learning and growing.

Derek Conliffe, MSW, RSW

Forging Resilience Founder