Why I Practice Yoga
Why I practice yoga
By Rebecca Thomas
Before I found yoga, I used to be the type of person who would only do circuit training, running and weights. If it wasn’t making me sweat buckets, then it didn’t count as exercise as far as I was concerned. When I was first introduced to yoga, I didn’t like it. I giggled through shavasana and concluded that you had to be a hippy to do yoga.
Then I found an amazing teacher who changed the game for me. Her name is Jessica and she teaches at Flow Studio, in Belfast. She asked the class to set our own intentions at the beginning of class, which I realised was the only time I ever checked in with myself. Switching my exercise regime from high-intensity, aesthetic-focused training to yoga taught me much more than just stretching. I learnt how to love my body because of how it felt, rather than how it looked. Self-love was something I didn’t expect to gain from yoga and this was huge for an insecure, self-conscious twenty-one-year-old. I still practice like this every day. I stay focused on how everything feels rather than how it looks, both on and off the mat.
Practising asanas has taught me not to force things before I’m ready (again, also off the mat!), as it will only lead to discomfort, both physically and mentally. For example, in class, my teacher cued standing hand to big toe pose (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana). He told us to tense everything as much as we can, screw up our faces and make the pose as strong as possible. Of course, we all felt very uncomfortable trying to hold this, it wasn’t enjoyable and most of us fell out of the posture. He cued it again, but this time told us to let go of all the previous tension and just relax into it. This highlighted that if you relax and accept your mind and body for how they function and feel right now, it will more likely adapt for you than if you try to force it. This is a concept I translate into my daily life. When things like relationships, feelings, friendships and decisions are forced, they usually end up feeling uncomfortable.
“I still practice like this every day, I stay focused on how everything feels rather than how it looks, both on and off the mat.”
Practising asanas has taught me that I’m capable of much more than I give myself credit for. I used to think that forearm stand was completely out of my reach. I (almost) fooled myself into thinking that my shoulders were too hypermobile and I my anatomical structure wasn't made for this posture. Now, after a lot of patience and practice, forearm stand is one of my best inversions. I gained more mentally than physically when learning this posture. It taught me to not give up, to have confidence in my own ability and that it was within me the whole time, you just need to have the patience to work on it. Now, anytime I feel like something is unachievable, I remind myself that I once felt similarly about forearm stand which is now second nature. It assures me that all my current failures can one day become achievements.
Lastly, yoga has taught me to fill my own cup first. I work in healthcare, always trying to help other people’s bodies feel pain-free, sometimes to the detriment of my own body. Getting on my mat gives me time to focus on myself, to explore where I feel pain and where I could use a little extra care. I find that the more I look after myself, the easier it is to help others. When I fill up my own cup with kindness, it easily overflows and pours kindness onto others.
