Apart from physical fitness, practising yoga regularly has had an impact on the hard wiring in my brain. FACT. I won’t tell you that it has completely changed me and I’m a better, more sophisticated and zen person now. Because that’s not what’s happened. As Meghan Currie (one of my favourite yoga teachers) has recently said – yoga is like nature. Although the impact is ever so slow and you won’t see the change taking place, it most definitely is – and one day you’ll realise how much has changed without you noticing a thing!
Yoga has definitely changed the physical fitness level that I’m on. I’m still not the most flexible of people, in fact I’m so very far from being even called flexible. I have noticed a big change in the way my body bends and flexes. I used to suffer from terrible stiff neck pains almost on a regular weekly basis and I’d get back pains from sitting at the computer. Touch wood, these have been becoming more of a rare occurrence in my life! I can now touch my toes, put my head on my knees and stand on one foot without diving into the ground. Apart from the ability to pick up stuff off the floor without too much struggle this has also brought me a lot of confidence in my body. It feels good to know you can do things without breaking your back.
My mood swings are more controlled. I’m a terrible, truly terrible PMSer. I cry, I throw the toys out of my pram, I buy things I don’t need and swear at people that I love. I’m not saying the mood swings are gone (god, they never ever will be are they!) but they are a little less prominent. When I’m about to explode I do a headstand instead, always works. Sometimes I wonder whether I could book a meeting room at work to just stand on my head for a bit to let some steam out.
It’s all about control & limits. What I particularly love about yoga is that you get to know your limits and you also learn how to push them, and how far you can actually push them before slipping too far. It’s just you, no weights, no equipment, no team players, it’s just you & yourself with your body and all the will that’s in you to push yourself to the next move, pose or flow. As someone who is ‘in their head‘ a little too much (as others like to point out, ta), this is perfect for me and it of course, translates into daily life too. Learn what your stance is and how to move it to wherever you feel like it should be.