20-min Yoga Every day — what I Learned and How It Changed me
Healthy body, a clear mind, and more vitality
“In order to change, we must be sick and tired of being sick and tired.” — Unknown
You wake up one day, exhausted.
Your back hurts. Your reflexes are gone.
Your mind is foggy and your body is stuck to the couch.
You look at yourself in the mirror: “F*ck me. How did this happen?”
When I reached my 20’s, I simply stopped physical activity. I was stuck to my chair the whole day, either learning something in class or watching Netflix. I indulged in the misconception that adulting = poor health and stopped doing efforts to maintain my wellbeing. After all, if the body will inevitably give out — no matter what I do — then what’s the point of trying?
I thought I was smart.
At first, nothing seemed to change. Then, two years down the road, daily painful occurrences started happening but nothing major.
When I reached 25, I was suffering from all sorts of ailments: fractured foot, multiple sprains, and my back became my worst enemy.
I couldn’t do anything without feeling pain. Even my distraction and hobbies became a handicap.
I couldn’t stand what my life became. I snapped out of my lethargy. No more. Time to change.
The resolve to find a solution brought me to several other forms of pain relief such as therapeutic massages, chiropractors, and muscle kinesitherapy. Then, sometime later (and my bank account emptier), Yoga found me.
The only expense I had to incur was a mat.
At first, I wasn’t sure what to think of it.
The term Yoga became such a trend since the 19th century that I naturally associated it with veganism and LA Gurus. Several people’s endeavor starts like this, including mine. It became a mission to get the right information.
What is Yoga?
Universally, Yoga is a practice that combines breathing techniques, meditation, and physical postures to align the body and mind.
According to Medical New Todays:“ Yoga is a mind and body practice with a 5,000-year history in ancient Indian philosophy. ”In Western societies, it is considered generally as a physical and therapeutic practice. People do Yoga as a means to stretch and be flexible to prepare the body for more active sports. In Eastern societies, Yoga is an end to itself. It prepares not the body, but the life energy for evolution. It is revered as a spiritual quest to bring mind, body, and soul together.
Sadhguru, a famous Yogi and author of Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide to Joy, believes the true purpose of yoga is to expand the dimensions of human being’s potential. Yoga’s true aim is enlightenment while health, peace, and joy are side-benefits.
This confused me.
Did it matter how I viewed the purpose of Yoga?
Was it going to influence my results?
I became concerned that the wrong approach would not yield the benefits I was aiming for. I spend two days mulling over it then decided to stop and just do it. I needed to see it for myself and maybe figure it out on the way there.
And it worked.
A healthier body and higher vitality
When I started Yoga, one of the things I noticed was heightened awareness of my spine.
I never really realized how much I discarded the foundation of my skeleton on a daily basis. I would lay on my couch in twisted poses or slouch over my laptop without any care in the world.
Doing certain poses such as the cow pose jolted me out of that lethargic state. It stretched my back and legs which generally are flexed when I am sitting either writing or watching something.
It became uncomfortable to hunch when I walk when I write or when I do anything for that matter. I switched from working on my bed or couch to writing on a chair hat kept my spine straight.
I changed my sitting posture. I stopped slouching. Even how I stand became different. My steps became more grounded and my moves more fluid.
I also noticed my breathing changed.
It took me a couple of weeks, 3 weeks precisely, to see the effects of the cobra pose. I can hold my breath longer and my thoracic cage feels bigger. My breathing techniques improved and I became able to focus more on the present moment as well as the tasks in front of me.
Several combinations such as the Surya Namaskar are supposed to align the body with the earth’s geometry. I cannot say for sure that I am feeling more aligned with the planet. But I got back reflexes I lost and became less clumsy.
My flexibility and balance improved but most importantly, my back pain disappeared within two weeks of practice.
Amidst all these changes, a miracle happened: my lower back pains disappeared. I didn’t want to believe it at first, I kept telling myself “this is a lucky day”. Then the next day, then the following day.
It’s been two months now.
From my personal experience, I witnessed directly the pain relief benefits of a consistent yoga practice. There was no turning back. I knew it was going to be a lifestyle.
However, the benefits exceeded my expectations.
Clear mind
Rewind back to how my morning routine used to be: I wake up in the morning and my head is already hammering: Ideas. Scenarios. memories. Dreams. All jumbled together. I had no control whatsoever on the train of my thoughts. Sometimes, I felt like I was drowning in my own head.
The noise is my head was a beehive, buzzing with what I like to call “parasite thoughts”. I clearly lost the ability to control my mind.
I don’t remember when I started developing this beehive-noise. But I used to think it meant I was intelligent or at least on the way to be.
We all know the stereotype of the genius intellectuals whose head bounces with thoughts. It was a privilege to think I was on par with those prodigies. I thought it was a question of time before I could use it to make genius inventions and whatnot.
An Einstein in the making.
But the years passed and nothing changed. By the fifth year, I had to come to the conclusion that my idea of what intelligence meant was skewed and completely wrong.
There was nothing noble about not being able to control my thoughts. If anything, this agitation showed that I lost the ability to master myself.
I was determined to find a solution.
I started reading books about mind hacking and reducing stress. I went to inspiring people, asking them the recipe of how to quiet the shatter. None of them gave me a satisfying answer. It was a given for them to have a brain that worked for them.
When my physical health started troubling me more than my mental health, I decided to put my quest on hold. The pain in my lower back demotivated me and I became unable to focus on anything but that.
I started Yoga with the goal to cure my ache.
I just didn’t expect to experience the chatter in my mind to quiet down.
Doing Yoga almost every day brought about clarity of thought I was desperately seeking but didn’t know how to get.
My level of anxiety dropped and my line of thinking was not as clouded anymore.
My energy naturally started flowing where my priorities were and I developed more self-discipline to resist distractions on social media.
My mind became clear and focused. I realized the meditative practice of Yoga gave me more awareness and control over my thought patterns.
Higher levels of happiness
Patel Kelsey, a yogi and meditation teacher said:” If you were to go out in the day, and not have set any intention, then you’re getting on a bike with no direction. This can be great sometimes because you’re allowing fate to happen to you, but if you know that you want to get somewhere, the power of setting an intention is going to help you get there.”
Before doing yoga, it’s helpful to get clear on your direction.
I used to think I had no control over how my day was going to go.
It’s true up to a certain extent. There are external factors that you cannot bend to your will.
But others intrinsic elements to yourself such as how you feel and how you react: these are in the realm of your own control.
Set intentions
I learned that setting intentions helped me refocus when my mind wandered off during the practice. But it also taught me I can apply this principle to my daily life as well.
Training myself on being clear on what I wanted to feel after practice and also during the day made me more receptive to feeling happier and present.
Breathing techniques
Along with setting an intention, breathwork was also a game-changer for my mood.
As a basis, Yoga is combining the right breathing technique (Pranayama) with the right poses (Asanas). It takes some time to know when to inhale and when to exhale with each movement.
This technique helped me stay centered and concentrate my attention on what’s right here, right now.
Mindfulness
My mind didn’t wander off: it focuses solely on getting the movement right.
I learned to focus more on the present moment, on my mental being, and on my body awareness.
This training started showing outside of my Yoga practices as well.
I became more aware when I started getting nostalgic about the past or stressed about the future.
Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher and founder of Taoism said it perfectly:
“If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present”
I couldn’t agree more. Finally accepting and learning how to live in the present moment made me more grateful and joyful of life.
Yoga mindfulness’ benefits increased my level of happiness and showed me there is a path to being harmonious with my emotions, my thoughts, and my actions.
If you’re a beginner like myself, it’s never too late to start.
There is no age to make right by yourself and you only have one body to live in, so treat it well.
Do some research on stretching, watch a beginner’s classes but most importantly, enjoy the process of getting your vitality back!
