33 Reasons Why I Practice Yoga
(A tribute to my 15-year yoga practice as a forever-humble student)
1) It’s me-time.
2) I can bring anything and everything to the mat, and all is welcome to just be.
3) I’ve been practicing as a student for almost 15 years. That is the longest I have ever committed to anything. And I mean, anything.
4) People have asked whether I’ve considered taking yoga teacher training. I have, but I never felt called to do it. Being a forever-humble student, for now, feels infinitely more sacred to me.
5) I’ve practiced multiple styles and have taken classes with hundreds of teachers. Each class is unique and never again replicated.
6) Its principles and teachings can be applied to life outside the mat.
7) It’s a spa day for the soul.
8) I love the feeling of booking my classes on Sunday evening, looking forward to it all week long like a cherished date. Then, when I travel to class, I savour the feeling of taking myself on a date. When it’s done, I simply feel squishy and gooey inside knowing I’ve done a kind act for myself.
9) My body responds so instantly and viscerally the moment I step into my mat. I can go from all-over-the-place frazzled and ungrounded to centered and collected and calm—in under one minute. Nothing else comes close to have this effect on me—ever.
10) Yoga has given me the wonderful gift of embodiment, of learning to be with my body and embracing all sensations. Especially at a time when I was working through deep layers of trauma, yoga was my lifeline.
11) For the first few years of my practice, yoga was hard. I tried to hide the fact that I spent most of savasana fighting back tears that would silently roll down my cheeks. I would resist the urge to wipe them while I was supposed to “do nothing”. So I let them air-dry. After class, they were unnoticeable to no one but me, when I could still feel the crusted-tears sensations on my face where they had been. But the discipline of savasana taught me to be with my pain, and to befriend uncomfortable emotions.
12) It’s pressing the reset button on my mind, body and spirit. Then I can tackle life again.
13) If the teacher is really good, the practice becomes more than just yoga. It becomes a beautiful mix of meditation, chanting, reading, aromatherapy, community, and good vibes all around.
14) It is extremely accessible and ubiquitous. Many classes are free or low-cost, and contrary to popular trends, yoga can be practiced with comfortable, everyday clothing and a blanket.
15) You do not need lululemon pants to practice yoga well. I didn’t buy my first lululemons until 8 years into my practice.
16) The moment you can literally feel everyone in class synchronize even though your field of vision is limited to the two inches between your eyeballs and your mat during down dog. Priceless.
17) When you invest in a really good mat, it lasts years. My iYogi mat has lasted 5 years and counting. Before that, I would replace my mat every year.
18) When you practice outdoors and you actually do sun salutations facing the freaking sun (as opposed to the roof when you are inside a studio), you feel like a million bucks!
19) There was a time I was really into hot yoga and practiced it diligently for a good year. Going to class was like taking a tropical vacation—at a fraction of the cost!
20) When travelling, I would bring my yoga mat not necessarily to practice on, but just lay out in my hotel room to remind me of home.
21) Yoga with bunnies, kittens and puppies (or goats, for that matter) are the best mental health therapy ever.
22) If I go too long without yoga, I literally feel myself move farther and farther away from my heart.
23) The inherent slowing down and resting is a form of resistance in a world that glorifies busyness.
24) Sometimes I go to class purely for the teacher.
25) Sometimes I go to class purely for the playlist.
26) Sometimes I go to class purely for the cute athletic dude that I know takes the yin class every Thursday evening to stretch his muscles.
27) When you’ve gone to as many classes as I have, you have honed your ability to distinguish a great class from a mediocre class. And you can be unapologetically picky about who your teacher is.
28) Yoga teachers are some of the most kind, authentic, giving and truly interesting and inspiring people on the planet.
29) In a world that tries to program and condition your thinking from the moment you are born, yoga’s practice of to attuning to yourself and your needs is a radical act.
30) Late-night yoga is the perfect pre-bedtime wind-down ritual.
31) Early-morning yoga is the perfect energizing wake-up ritual.
32) A little chocolate after yoga practice feels like a double-treat!
33) Yoga demands very little of you and gives so much in return. You can do yoga even if you’re dead tired and receive incredible benefits from it.
© 2020 Rosalyn C. RainDancer
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