What a daily yoga practice taught me
Yoga was something I had wanted to get into for a while. I guess if you want something enough the universe conspires to give it to you (thanks Paulo Coelho). A little over a year ago when anxiety was crippling, I came across Yoga with Adriene, and I’m still hooked. Here’s what I’ve learnt so far.

Listen to your body
Emotional pain can turn to physical pain. For example when you suffer heartbreak sometimes you can physically feel it, a sort of tightening in the chest. During my yoga practice I learnt that energy was becoming stagnant in my chest, I often suffered panic attacks and shortness of breath. Yoga taught me to listen, to listen to my body and the messages it was sending. When to say no and when to put myself first. I learnt that my body enjoyed yoga so I carried on until I was doing it everyday. I learnt that if I really didn’t want to do something, I didn’t have to, and that was ok. This was the first lesson in self love.
This is how I began to heal.
What I’ve learnt from Adriene is to be where you are today. If I would nail a pose every other day but for some reason I can’t today, then that is fine. If I don’t want to do it then that’s ok too. There was one time I was finding it really hard to be present, to focus and I swear I couldn’t hit any pose. So, I stopped. I switched it off and moved on to something else. And, you know what… it was ok. When you begin to accept where you are today you can start fresh tomorrow. It’s only when you resist that you suffer.
The space in between
An integral part of yoga is the transition into the next step. How we carry ourselves into the next post with intention. Yoga teaches you to take your time, be present and to do it with total awareness. Finding space in between. This is true to everyday life. It is in this space where the magic happens. Where we laugh and find connections. Where we realise how far we’ve come and how time has been kind and helped us heal!
Be present
This is the most important lesson learnt from my yoga practice. Yoga teaches you to be aware, an awareness I didn’t have before. When you are present in the moment and do things with intention you regain control. Before I started yoga I felt like I lost control. But by practicing being aware and being aware of my thoughts I began to silence the noise around me. The noise which felt like was on loop. Yoga helped to break that loop. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not walking around like I’m in an Enya video, but I am aware of when a negative thought pops in, and I try to bring my attention back to the present.
The more I practice yoga the more I learn about myself. This learning helps me take the practice off the mat and into my everyday life. The more I learn about myself the closer I get to figuring out what I want and what I like without any outside influence. If you find yourself stuck or lost, why not give it a go and see what you uncover.
If you’re a yoga fan too, why not share what you’ve learnt about yourself since starting?
