So I know I have an entire page dedicated to yoga including my journey on how I started practicing and how it has brought me to training to be a yoga teacher. In case you haven’t noticed, I love yoga. Yoga is my jam.
This past weekend, I continued my yoga teacher training journey. I was looking forward to the weekend because I needed a reset. February was getting to me with all the snow which made for long commutes, many days inside, and school closing days. February also included busy work days with traveling. These things combined left me less motivated for practicing yoga: I lost my mojo this month. I was still attending yoga classes a few times a week and would practice at home but not everyday.
When I went to my Friday night class, I was told that we were focusing on Ashtanga yoga (which is a more physically intense yoga) this weekend along with building a 60 minute class as a group and teaching a 45 minute class each of the students had developed. Basically, we were going to do a lot of yoga!
And boy did we! We did several classes taught by our teacher but then we also did several classes that were taught by students, which was great experience. I taught a 45 minute class that I developed and I helped develop and teach a 60 minute class. I am starting to get more confident in my ability to teach once I am done training π .
This weekend we also learned about energy healing and we learned how to do energy work on someone. I will admit that I was totally skeptic of it but after learning about the seven chakras of the body and the energy healing, I think it can be useful. I mean, energy is just physics, right?
Over the weekend we did a LOT of yoga and it was amazing! It was just what I needed to reset my whole self. I left feeling refreshed and ready to start up by daily yoga practice again and take on the world. I’ve gone strong for two days so far, not much of a trend yet but you have to start somewhere π .
Yoga has so many benefits and is great for people of all ages and abilities because there are so many types of yoga. I personally love a rigorous vinyasa flow class to build heat, strength and flexibility, but I also enjoy a restorative class that stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system to put the body into ultra relaxation mode. With so many styles, you can use different ones depending on what you need at that moment of your life.
For example, practicing yoga after having my first child was a great way to lose my baby weight and get in the best shape of my life. I didn’t lift a single weight, yet was more toned that I had ever been. After having my second child, I found myself not taking as many rigorous classes so my toning hasn’t been as extensive as before. I instead find myself taking slower flow type classes, which is really what I need right now to relieve stress and stay grounded. Even my girls have practiced yoga which gives them the ability to move, stretch, and breath at such a young age.
Yoga has great benefits for no matter what stage of life or your physical needs are. Especially this time of year, if you are looking for something to get you out of the winter “funk,” consider yoga. It is my jam and it could be your jam too!
Have you ever done yoga or what do you do to reset?