Exploring your Inner Self

Yoga. I know, “Everyone is doing it”. Typically when confronted with a popular trend, I unitentionally and subconsciously despise said activity simply because I prefer to explore and discover my own way of passing time. Well, in this case, yoga is an exceptional exception because of the internal power and peace of mind I have been able to uncover since beginning my practice a few months ago. While I practiced pilates for years now, yoga offered an entirely new dimension-meditation- that left me feeling lifted and at peace with the entire world. When confronted with mentally taxing situations (on a superficial level, I am thinking about living in my parent’s household for close to year now and putting my preferred lifestlyle as an independent nomad on hold) I find that waking up first thing in the morning and embracing the first principle of yoga, the concept of the Himsa (nonviolence) centers my mind for the day and provides me with the strength to thoroughly love each day. It shocks me to consider how deeply at peace I feel on the days I perform yoga and how out of balance (physically, mentally, and emotionally) I am during days when I forgoe my routine. At first I thought I was making myself believe I felt more harmonious with all living things and deeply indebted to the gifts of the Universe until I attended a flow yoga class for the first time. A combination of tai chi, yoga, and pilates, this class left me physically weak yet internally powerful. The moment I realized I was not fictitionalizing the power of yoga was when my sister commented how “out of it” she felt and that she “finally understood”. Essentially, she found herself in the state of zen that often follows a true yoga session. Finally, she could relate to the zen-like state I was frequently in after a yoga session. Now, she attends the same flow yoga class a few times a week and is developing her personal practice. Yoga is not about exercising. It is about embracing a peace-filled, centered, attentive state of mind in which we as individuals strive to connect fully to our ownselves and more intentionally to all that exists in this grand universe. I attached a short quiz to help you identify which style of yoga would most correspond to your uniqueness as an individual. I hope you embrace the opportunity to love yourself and all that is alive within you and around you.

Namaste
http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/quizzes_and_tools/stylequiz

Advertisement