Yoga is all about focusing on strength, flexibility and breathing to improve your mental wellbeing. This form of exercise and peace keeping originated from India around 5,000 years ago and now it is common practice around the world! If you haven't had much experience with yoga before, let us enlighten you.
Each Mindfulness Monday we have had the help of The Vibrancy Hub's Laura Bamber for our tips and tricks. Alongside being an expert in mindfulness, Laura is also a fully trained Yoga instructor who studied 200 hours of Yoga in India!
Laura has treated us to her top seven insights as to why yoga can change your life for the better…
#1 Yoga will help you develop a real appreciation for your body.
Everyone is different and yoga helps you to understand the uniqueness of your body. Through practising yoga, you will come to realise that your body will not do everything you want it to do and that's ok. As long as your body is healthy, you can experience so many beautiful things in life.
Those 'Bendy Wendys' all over Instagram look amazing but for 99% of us, we will never ever look like them and be able to do the tricks that they do, because our bodies just weren’t built that way
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#2 Yoga provides a framework for you to be a better person.
The teachings of yoga provide a guideline of how to live life as a better human being. It will change your whole view on life and the world for the better.
By working through some of the philosophical questions and theories, it has helped me to escape the limitations of the mind and live more consciously and without judgement.
#3 Yoga helps you to ditch the unhelpful comparisons.
Yoga turns your attention inwards into an almost meditative state where you are completely focused on the here and now and your own unique yoga experience rather than comparing yourselves to others.
Yoga is one of the only forms of exercise where I turn completely inwards – staying completely focused on my own practice.
#4 Yoga makes you stronger.
Yoga is a great alternative to weights because you are lifting your own bodyweight, which takes more skill, strength and determination.
Yoga was initially an activity to enable me to stretch my body after building my strength and fitness through other forms of exercise. Now, I realise that yoga has actually created a lot of my strength.
#5 Yoga helps you to find more joy in the journey.
So many of us, especially those who are highly driven and goal focussed, become extremely attached to an outcome and when we don’t achieve a targeted outcome we feel frustrated and unfulfilled. But yoga is a never ending journey and with every practice you master something new – whether it's a fancy pose or the feeling of being more relaxed and focussed.
I never feel as though I am striving for anything in yoga. I love being on the mat and experiencing the joy of what shows up for me in every single practice.
#6 Yoga increases self awareness.
Yoga is the most amazing vehicle for practising mindfulness – for noticing when your mind is wandering and gently bringing yourself back to the present moment. It can help you to regain control by preventing you from dwelling on the past and worrying about the future.
I can now consciously choose the actions I take and make decisions aligned to my heart as opposed to being unconsciously dragged through life!
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#7 Yoga is the best stress buster EVER!
Laura first took up yoga when she was working 14 hour days and feeling exhausted. She'd been reading a lot about the health impacts of stress and knew that she needed to take some action to get her health in check. Laura started with 2 x 1 hour classes per week and it was a game changer for her:
This little “time out” away from the treadmill of life just gave me chance to breath and to gain some perspective. I immediately felt calmer, more clear and more in control of my life. It was these immediate benefits in a time of major stress that made me keep going back for more.
Continue the mindfulness journey…
Keep a look out for more Mindfulness Monday posts for mindfulness techniques and more top tips.
You can enrol for a six session package with Laura or have a one-off 60 minute session (via Skype or face-to-face). Visit The Vibrancy Hub and their Facebook and Instagram page to find out more.
Check out our last Mindfulness Monday post on Self-Care For The Mind, Body and Soul.
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