I just finished recording 8 new videos this morning for the Quick Bliss Yoga studio, and one of the things I kept catching myself saying is, “Remember it’s not about getting somewhere, it’s about being here.”
My practice has changed so much over the past 20 years when I began my yoga practice. When I started, it was all about weight loss, and fitness. I went to 40 degree studios for 90 minute classes that kicked my ass 6 days a week.
Then I wanted to do fancier more challenging poses that would contort my body into extreme shapes and defy gravity.
Now, I just want to lay on the floor and breathe.
And it’s all yoga.
In each stage I learned how to use my body to help guide me into a place of stillness within myself. It has been the greatest journey of my life.
In the beginning, my practice was completely about getting somewhere. Getting somewhere in physical appearance, strength, flexibility, and in the postures themselves. It was all about getting somewhere.
Looking back the challenge was necessary to hook me into yoga. The ambition fueled my practice and led me to find those places within that I hadn’t seen before. The sweat showed me how to find stillness, connection, and the part of me which is Timeless.
My love of yoga has not changed however my practice has. I prefer a slower simpler practice now that nourishes my body more than challenges it (I do other things for that), reconnects me to the life that flows through this body, and reminds me of the part of me that is Timeless.
Often my practice is only 5 or 10 minutes, and those few minutes always miraculously clears and calms my cluttered anxious mind, opens my heart, and grounds me in spirit.
I can’t imagine my life without it. I’m curious, if you practice yoga, how long have you been practicing and has how you practiced change over the years? And, what keeps you coming back to your mat? Tell me all about it in the comments below!