Yesterday I felt a renewed urge to commit to my previously held ideal of doing yoga each day. So I started a 30 day yoga challenge.
And I immediately felt better for it.
It's easy to find excuses, and boy have I found them! Sometimes I need more sleep (a hangover from a nasty case of glandular fever a while back), or want to go for a walk in the morning before work (ideal in conjunction with the yoga, not instead of), or I need to make lunch because I didn't do it the night before. And I'm a night owl, so it's not my normal preference to go to bed early.
But every time I get on the mat, I wonder why it took me so long to get back here. For me, yoga isn't just about physical fitness, or flexibility - although it is great for those too. The biggest benefit for me is always the dedicated time to be focused, and check in with myself, both physically and mentally. I work in a fast paced job, so it's an everyday occurrence for my mind to be racing at 100 miles an hour, and sometimes it's hard to break out of that pattern. Yoga is mindfulness, alignment, and deep breath.
I can see why it's such a popular pastime in western culture, where things buzz along at a hectic pace at all hours of the day. If you can't get to the countryside, mountains, or the beach, get to yoga!
I am fortunate to live in an area closely to a river, parklands, and not too far from the botanical gardens, and I love to take walks (or a bike ride) through these natural spaces, but it is also totally divine to take my yoga mat down to a grassy spot near the river early in the morning or just before dusk, and get some fresh air, and a few mindful moments.
My favourite go-to yoga at the moment is the wonderful Yoga with Adriene, and I'm working through the 30 days of yoga playlist.
If you're new to yoga, or feel like an intro to the course, jump in and check out the above.
I'm on day two, as below:
And if you feel like a sweet sitar mix to go along with your yoga, wrap your ears around this mix by Dubtrak.
Namaste :)
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