Many times I have been asked a question, why I chose yoga. I have been in the health industry for a quite long time, since 2009. First I became a therapeutic massage therapist, then NASM certified personal trainer, then corrective exercise specialist, and only later a yoga instructor. But yoga really stood out for me in my life. And there are many reasons for that. So let me start from the beginning.
I started my yoga journey only a couple of years ago. My initial interest in yoga was strictly physical. At the time, I was working out pretty intensively, and I needed to have some more flexibility in my body. I was not mistaken in this, because yoga benefits include both physical and mental ones. So let me mention some of them here.
Yoga Benefits
Yoga Benefits for Physical Wellbeing
First of all, yoga carries a lot of physical health benefits.
- increased flexibility
- increased muscle strength and tone
- improved respiration
- improved energy and vitality
- improved athletic performance
- balanced metabolism
- weight reduction due to mindful living
- cardio and circulatory health
- protection from injury
Yoga Benefits for Mental Wellbeing
Also, yoga has mental health benefits. And here are some of them.
- yoga moves you from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest response (from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system)
- yoga helps to become more mindful in all areas of life
- yoga can lead to increased self-confidence, reasoning and problem-solving skills
- yoga helps with depression and anxiety
- yoga helps with post-traumatic stress disorder
- you cultivate a more nonjudgmental relationship with yourself and others
- you become happier (happy brain chemicals increase while cortisol levels decrease)
If you are ready to begin your yoga journey but don’t know where to start, read my article “6 Every Day Places to Yoga.”
Yoga Benefits I did not Realize
What I did not realize from the beginning that yoga was so much more than just these sets of benefits. The decision to go for a Yoga Teacher Training was spontaneous and in order to learn more about all the insides of yoga. At the time I was trying to find a change and happiness in life through yoga.
But after completing my basic 200 hours, I did not feel that I reached what I was looking for. Although the love for yoga started to grow even more.
So I made a decision to go further and attend 500 hours with Sri Dharma Mittra, the legendary Yoga Master who practices in NYC. And that’s when everything really started to shift. Everything was changing rapidly inside and all of a sudden I started to distinguish what was necessary from what was unnecessary in my life.
During the time of that training, a lot changed in my life. And that’s when I realize the full power of yoga. Everything became so clear. Life started to make sense. And then I realized that when you practice yoga seriously, you can achieve impossible in life. It might be healing from the disease, or achieving the goal you always felt out of the reach or simply getting that pose you never thought possible. And you can eventually reach the highest goal of yoga- the goal of finding your True Self.
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Most People’s Assumption about Yoga
There are two types of misled visions about yoga. The first one is that you are supposed to be very flexible to attend a yoga class. And the second one is that yoga is a religion, particularly Hinduism. Interestingly, neither of this is true.
False Vision of Being Flexible to be Able to Practice Yoga
Personally, I never thought that I had to be flexible to go to a yoga class. Actually, the opposite was true for me. I went to yoga to get that flexibility. And that was the only way I saw yoga. But at the same time, despite most fitness people, I never wanted to achieve a handstand by doing yoga. I always thought that CrossFit was a much better option for that. As a matter of fact, when I went to my first yoga class I had no idea that yogis not only do handstands, but many of them are almost crossing the line with contortionism as well as gymnastics. So maybe the lack of knowledge in this really helped me get into yoga. Who knows?
Same goes for headstands. It was never my real intention to learn how to stand on the head. And I actually thought that those people are out of their minds to stand upside down for 10-15 min every single day!
False Vision of Yoga Being a Religion
As for the second false vision, yoga is not a religion. Yoga is a union. Union of body, mind, and soul, first of all. And the symbol “OM” 🕉️ represents that union. And therefore every yoga class starts with this Universal sound, not for religious purposes but to unite all of us in one.
In reality, yoga principles are based on your own beliefs. Through regular practice, you’ll begin to notice subtle transformations in your whole being according to your own conditions and your own vision of life.
Conclusion
Yoga teaches you a discipline, a self-care, letting go, trusting and reaching the fullest potential you have inside of you. While my initial intention of practicing yoga was to get more flexible, later on, it became a goal of Self-realization more than anything else.
Practicing yoga changed me a lot, and in a good way. Interestingly, even though it was never my intention to reach a specific pose, now I can not wait to master my handstand. And I am truly enjoying the headstand every single day!
Although I do love teaching, yoga was always something very precious for me, a lot more than money can offer. And even though I might have not achieved a full Self-realization yet, I finally found myself in this world. I finally found what I am meant to do in this life! And that was thanks to yoga. And That is Why I chose Yoga.
Ready to start your yoga journey? Read about “7 Must-Have Essentials to Start Practicing Yoga Today”
Namaste ॐ
Learn more about Yoga and my Yoga Journey.
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Yoga is very beneficial. My mom’s job offered free yoga classes every week. She would go to help relieve stress and pains from her cancer when she felt up to it.
Love the beach yoga photos! And yoga it self. Everyone should practice <3
Thank you
I’ve been toying with the idea to give yoga another try. I have definitely bought into the “I have to be flexible myth” and have been frustrated when I have attempted it before. I think I just need to find the right way to ease into it.
Just find a really great teacher who you like and trust! I promise it will flow.
I recently started taking a yoga class and I love it! It’s helped with my flexibility and I really enjoy how peaceful I feel during and after class.
I aspire to be practice Yoga – your site is beautiful. Looking forward to following.
Thank you so much, Julie!
I am glad this has had such a positive force in your life!
Thank you, Tricia
I love yoga for it’s relaxation benefits!
My daughter does yoga and wants me to. I’ve pinned this to come back to when I’m not distracted.
I have a friend who has been encouraging me to try yoga. This article is an added helpful push! I’m going to have to give it a try!
Glad that it could help you inspire to practice yoga!
I have been doing a combination of yoga and Qigong for a little while now, and I really love it. I can feel my internal energy moving for once. It’s amazing! Love your site as always!
Thank you, Ramae! And happy that you could find your way to get the internal energy moving. That is the key!
I really never knew about all the benefits of yoga. I just thought of the flexibility that is gained through the practice. I also always saw it as meditative so I knew it had some benefits to your mental state. Thanks for explaining it in so much detail!
Thank you, Alexandra, for stopping by and reading!
lovely photos to accompany thought out ideas
I just started doing yoga a couple of weeks ago to help with pain and build my strength and flexibility. It has truly helped me relieve the pain from my sports injuries. It’s great! I don’t do it every day, but maybe I’ll work up to it!
I love the way yoga, when I practice it, brings me back to myself and yet also opens me to deeper things, bigger truths. Reading your posts encourages me to do more.
Thank You for sharing this information. I am going to get started as the benefits are all needed at this time in my life.
The more I read your articles, the more inspired I get to think about giving it a try again. My main goal would be the flexibility – I workout a lot, but don’t stretch and I know I should. I can feel the need! But, I’m also learning from you the other benefits. It’s a matter of prioritizing and finding the time!
I always thought yoga was some kind of alternative exercise that was silly. But then I got a bad case of anxiety and panic attacks and yoga saved me! I learned to calm my mind and listen to my body. It has been life changing! Everyone should try it for a while!
I’ve been practicing yoga for many years. It has truly changed my life!!
I so wish I could do this. I have a progressive rheumatologic condition and I’m sure this would be of benefit, but it just seems like it would take forever to reach any kind of flexibility. I’m going to have to take some time to do more research on it.
The most important is the progress and to be patient with it. Enjoy the process, you will get a lot of benefits out of practicing yoga.
I have been thinking about trying yoga at my gym. I am really not flexible but after reading this I will try it.
Yoga is so great for your health. I don’t understand why people don’t do it more.
Never thought that yoga gives a lot of benefits. Hope to try this soon. Thank you for this amazing blog, hope to read more.
[…] on life and how to react to everything. (You can read more about how yoga changed my life here). But there were times when it was very hard. When life events hit one, after another, after […]