Dear Yoga,
Whenever I go long periods without practicing you, I start to feel different in my body, mind, and spirit. It's as though I don't feel much like myself at all.
The first thing I begin to notice is that my body feels more tense and achy. Knots of stress and muscle tension form, hardening my outer shell and causing it to lose its elasticity. I feel less springy and buoyant; more inactive and heavy.
My mind seems to feel more scattered as it becomes quite difficult for me to stay focused on one particular task and not at all centered within my own self. Usually my mind will go to places I prefer not to spend too much time in because the inner dialogue that takes precedence is the one that is less positive and more critical.
Not practicing you regularly also makes me feel low-spirited. I get down on myself, my passion for life slowly begins to fade, and my creativity is stunted as my stream of imagination and ideas become blocked.
As soon as I get back to practicing you, I feel an immediate shift in all parts of my being. The flow of breath and movement ignite an inner fire within me as I feel sweat coming out through my pores, running down my face and neck, and softening my body once again. I feel spacious and strong at the same time. I feel stable and secure.
While I practice you yoga, I hear words that resonate with me. These thoughts spoken by someone else often inspire me to think and feel in new ways. Sometimes I'll experience a shift in perspective of the world, of how I view myself, and others over and over. This makes me feel more alive and aware of all that is.
One of the reasons I love to practice you most yoga is because you build up my confidence and open my heart. You make me feel good about who I am and what I am capable of. You make me feel and there is nothing more human than to feel. When I am challenged to shape my body and self into a certain pose, I feel curious, courageous, calm, and connected. I feel worthy of being.
Thanks to you yoga, I have found a life long practice of feeling grateful for living with this body, mind, and spirit that were gifted to me and for me. For all of these reasons, I will treasure you and practice you as much as I possibly can for the rest of my days on earth.
Sincerely,
Angela (yogi for life)