Your Reasons For Practicing Yoga
Intersting enough, I had a conversation with a friend yesterday about trying yoga that was fairly profound.
You see it was his first time trying yoga, turns out he actually received much more out of it than he had previously thought.
First, he had always thought of yoga as "exercise" - and being a runner, soccer player and involved in many other sports, there was obviously no dire need to tackle yoga - he already had enough exercise.
Next, he had no idea that men were involved with yoga - yet when I occassionally attend a local class, more than half the room is filled with men, so it is certainly not the case that men do not take an interest or practice yoga.
Finally, he was concerned over the spiritual aspects of yoga - never could really pinpoint his concern here, but nevertheless, it is no longer a concern for him.
Now, after several sessions, what has he gotten out of his yoga experiences?
1. First and foremost, yoga lets him spend time on himself, helping to get back in touch with the inner "you" that so many of us lose track of in our stressed out, everday living.
2. Yoga provided him with a different kind of "workout" - different muscles, different endurance required - so it was unlike any other exercise he was getting despite being very active.
3. Yoga provided mindfullness - a sense of the here and now. In our busy lives we actually lose track of hours, days, weeks and even months. Yoga brings us back down to earth, allows us to "smell the roses" and enjoy each minute, day and week for what it is.
Now this was a terrific reminder to me of different views of yoga, and also reminded me why I continue to practice as often as I can.
Jeff
You see it was his first time trying yoga, turns out he actually received much more out of it than he had previously thought.
First, he had always thought of yoga as "exercise" - and being a runner, soccer player and involved in many other sports, there was obviously no dire need to tackle yoga - he already had enough exercise.
Next, he had no idea that men were involved with yoga - yet when I occassionally attend a local class, more than half the room is filled with men, so it is certainly not the case that men do not take an interest or practice yoga.
Finally, he was concerned over the spiritual aspects of yoga - never could really pinpoint his concern here, but nevertheless, it is no longer a concern for him.
Now, after several sessions, what has he gotten out of his yoga experiences?
1. First and foremost, yoga lets him spend time on himself, helping to get back in touch with the inner "you" that so many of us lose track of in our stressed out, everday living.
2. Yoga provided him with a different kind of "workout" - different muscles, different endurance required - so it was unlike any other exercise he was getting despite being very active.
3. Yoga provided mindfullness - a sense of the here and now. In our busy lives we actually lose track of hours, days, weeks and even months. Yoga brings us back down to earth, allows us to "smell the roses" and enjoy each minute, day and week for what it is.
Now this was a terrific reminder to me of different views of yoga, and also reminded me why I continue to practice as often as I can.
Jeff