Finding Balance Through Yoga
For years yoga felt uncomfortable to me even though I was pretty flexible; it didn't feel like exercise and holding awkward poses seemed like a waste of time. I would attempt it once or twice in any given year and reaffirm that it was not for me.
After having my fourth baby, my pelvic organ prolapse was so bad that my doctor recommended not running, lifting or doing any high impact exercise until I stopped breastfeeding, my hormones normalized and things had improved "down under." Since I was planning to breastfeed for a year, I knew that I would be going without real exercise for at least a year... that sounded like a death sentence to me, especially since I had already gone without exercising for six months prior to Zach's birth.
Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows that exercise is my outlet and a source of joy. If I'm struggling to find happiness in my life, I can play basketball, soccer or do a hard workout and my outlook won't feel so bleak. I don't always want to go out the door but the way I feel after pushing my body to do something hard reminds me what I am capable of and it centers me.
In fall 2017 I needed centering and I needed strength and I wasn't sure how to find it. Cue Yoga with Adriene. Over a short period of time I heard several friends rave about Yoga with Adriene, particularly since she had recently come to Houston and some of them had attended the event. Begrudgingly I searched her out on youtube and within a week of her telling me to "find what feels good", I had found a way to center myself without the types of exercise I craved.
I still had to be careful not to create too much internal pressure and be wise in which positions to modify, but over the course of the next three months that it took for me to finish the 30 Days of Yoga (because four kids 6 and under...), I realized that I actually looked forward to getting on the mat to practice yoga! I was regaining physical strength and learning to be more mindful.
According to life coach, writer and yoga instructor, Michelle Ribiero, in her article in Positive Psychology,
In reading Ribiero's article, I discovered an important part of why some exercise is centering for me: when I play basketball or soccer, I am focused on each moment of the game. Every moment of the game I'm thinking about where the ball is going to be passed, if I can get there before the opponent, when to shoot, etc. I'm being mindful in a different way than yoga, but still focused on my breathing, my body and my feelings. In both yoga and sport, I am not worrying about the fact that cancer is ticking down the time on my dad's mortal journey, I am not worrying that I feel inadequate in various aspects of my life, I am not worrying about what's for dinner... I am in the moment.
Two years later, my prolapse is much less of an issue and I'm back to running, basketball, soccer, lifting weights (a little lighter) and triathlons. Yoga, however, has remained a part of my balanced exercise routine. I still find mindfulness, resolve, stress relief, flexibility and core strength as I practice yoga. To maximize my experience I will clean the front room, open the blinds for natural light and sometimes turn on a diffuser. There are days where I just unroll my mat and begin and am usually able to tune out the surrounding chaos and feel more ready to tackle it when I've finished.
More than that, yoga has become a more natural part of my life. I now have a short repertoire of yoga poses that I run through when I stretch after exercising. As I was working on my laptop earlier today, I found myself continually moving into tree pose, alternating my standing foot. (It should be noted that when I work on my computer, I am constantly changing positions but am rarely sitting on a chair with my feet on the floor and the computer on a desk/table.)
If you're on the fence about trying yoga for the first time or for the fiftieth time, look at the benefits Ribiero shares from research done by Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital’s Depression Clinical and Research Program:
Yoga provides me with a connection of mind and body. Yoga provides me with an awareness of the miracle my body is. Yoga reminds me of a Higher Power. Yoga teaches me to honor the light within myself. Yoga brings peace to my mind and soul.
Just thinking about it makes me want to unroll my mat... namaste.
After having my fourth baby, my pelvic organ prolapse was so bad that my doctor recommended not running, lifting or doing any high impact exercise until I stopped breastfeeding, my hormones normalized and things had improved "down under." Since I was planning to breastfeed for a year, I knew that I would be going without real exercise for at least a year... that sounded like a death sentence to me, especially since I had already gone without exercising for six months prior to Zach's birth.
Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows that exercise is my outlet and a source of joy. If I'm struggling to find happiness in my life, I can play basketball, soccer or do a hard workout and my outlook won't feel so bleak. I don't always want to go out the door but the way I feel after pushing my body to do something hard reminds me what I am capable of and it centers me.
In fall 2017 I needed centering and I needed strength and I wasn't sure how to find it. Cue Yoga with Adriene. Over a short period of time I heard several friends rave about Yoga with Adriene, particularly since she had recently come to Houston and some of them had attended the event. Begrudgingly I searched her out on youtube and within a week of her telling me to "find what feels good", I had found a way to center myself without the types of exercise I craved.
I still had to be careful not to create too much internal pressure and be wise in which positions to modify, but over the course of the next three months that it took for me to finish the 30 Days of Yoga (because four kids 6 and under...), I realized that I actually looked forward to getting on the mat to practice yoga! I was regaining physical strength and learning to be more mindful.
According to life coach, writer and yoga instructor, Michelle Ribiero, in her article in Positive Psychology,
"Mindfulness has always been an essential aspect of the physical practice of yoga. The difference between Mindful Yoga and the wide variety of yoga practices out there is that with Mindful Yoga, the main focus is on mind-body awareness, as opposed to alignment details and the exact physical posture. The point is to cultivate mindfulness, using asana as the vehicle in which to do so."That was the key for me: "the main focus is on mind-body awareness, as opposed to alignment details and the exact physical posture"! That is why yoga really stuck for me this time. It took a yogi who could walk me through my breathing, scanning my body to pay attention to how each part of it felt in each moment and paying attention to my feelings throughout the practice.
In reading Ribiero's article, I discovered an important part of why some exercise is centering for me: when I play basketball or soccer, I am focused on each moment of the game. Every moment of the game I'm thinking about where the ball is going to be passed, if I can get there before the opponent, when to shoot, etc. I'm being mindful in a different way than yoga, but still focused on my breathing, my body and my feelings. In both yoga and sport, I am not worrying about the fact that cancer is ticking down the time on my dad's mortal journey, I am not worrying that I feel inadequate in various aspects of my life, I am not worrying about what's for dinner... I am in the moment.
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| Oct 2017 This is the only "yoga picture" I have during that period in my life: a nursing mom of a 4 month-old baby, who can't downward dog without leaking. |
More than that, yoga has become a more natural part of my life. I now have a short repertoire of yoga poses that I run through when I stretch after exercising. As I was working on my laptop earlier today, I found myself continually moving into tree pose, alternating my standing foot. (It should be noted that when I work on my computer, I am constantly changing positions but am rarely sitting on a chair with my feet on the floor and the computer on a desk/table.)
If you're on the fence about trying yoga for the first time or for the fiftieth time, look at the benefits Ribiero shares from research done by Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital’s Depression Clinical and Research Program:
- A deep sense of awareness / opening into the self
- Helps one to face the challenges of everyday life / demonstrate less reactivity
- Acceptance
- A heightened sense of compassion and non-judgment for the self and others
- Deepen your personal yoga practice
Yoga provides me with a connection of mind and body. Yoga provides me with an awareness of the miracle my body is. Yoga reminds me of a Higher Power. Yoga teaches me to honor the light within myself. Yoga brings peace to my mind and soul.
Just thinking about it makes me want to unroll my mat... namaste.
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