Yoga is wonderful whether it’s a spiritual practice, stretching routine, or workout.
My interest in yoga began about 5 years ago as purely wanting to improve my flexibility. The more I followed basic flows on YouTube, the more it began to feel like more than just a helpful stretching routine. I didn’t have the words for exactly what that feeling was, and maybe I still don’t.
I’ve tried to be the leader of my own flow with limited success. It feels no different than a simple stretching routine. A much more effective practice for me has been to follow guided flows, whether it be live classes (in person or Zoom) or YouTube sessions. These guided flows evolved my yoga into a meditative and spiritual experience. Following a guided practice allows me to reduce the amount of things my mind is responsible for and draw further attention inward, first on my breath and then on my existence. Every time I practice yoga with a guided flow, I feel clear and balanced spiritually, amplifying the way I feel physically.
This brings me to my 30 days of yoga. It had been quite some time since my last live yoga class and I didn’t have any YouTube flows that I really enjoyed. I knew I had to find some balance and revive my passion for yoga. Yoga With Adriene was recommended to me and the reviews had me excited. Adriene has an awesome style that keeps her sessions enjoyable. I decided to follow one of her earlier 30 Days of Yoga series to restore my balance and then some. I only made it through 19 days and had to put a pause on my practice (it wasn’t because of Adriene – I’d highly recommend following her practice. She has many other wonderful rejuvenating sessions).
In my attempt to find balance, I had imbalance in my approach. I was (and still am) training for my next IRONMAN and tried to fit in my 30 days of yoga around my training. Though my 30 days of yoga was important, it was not the primary focal point of my attention. My daily yoga practice was typically my 2nd or 3rd workout. While this didn’t hinder my experience at the start of my 30 days, I found I was focusing more and more on the minutes ticking by during the practice the further into the 30 days I went. My focus shifted from my spiritual balance to checking the box and fitting the time of the session into the day.
Straying from my grounded approach to my yoga practice tarnished my experience. It’s not the first time that I’ve experienced a lull in my passion for something I love and it serves as a reminder to the importance of mindset. Our mindset defines our reality. Doing something you love doesn’t mean you’re going to love doing it, certainly not without self-awareness.
Yoga will continue to be one of the primary ways in which I meditate and find balance. I’ll likely try 30 days of yoga again, though at a time when I can be more intentional with my practice to make sure I find grounding in it and it continues to be something I love.
