My Fitness Journey - Yoga.

As I have previously explained, I got pretty sick 7 weeks ago. I am finally working on getting back into doing cardio activities. I am shocked to have I have learned about different kinds of workouts and myself.

Right before I got sick, literally the day I got sick, I started Yoga. Due to the Whooping Cough, I thought it would be good to help me learn to breathe again. At that time I was having difficulty taking deep breaths. A couple of my co-workers strongly encouraged me to try yoga. I, like most people, was intimidated by it.

I am a girl who goes to the gym and lifts and runs. I don’t take classes. I sure as heck don’t do Yoga. I mean, I don’t need flexibility. I need muscles. I need to lift heavy weights and grunt (okay, I don’t grunt) but I need to sweat. I need to FEEL like I just accomplished something. That’s what I thought about before I tried Yoga. After Yoga, let’s just say I feel so bad for talking down on Yoga. I really do. I think it helps that I have a great instructor.

In the 7 weeks that I have been attending Yoga, I have been impressed with the results that I have noticed. During the first couple weeks of my ‘come back’ I really only did Yoga. I could feel how strong I was getting. The poses were getting easier each time I did them. I even found myself doing some of the poses during commercial breaks while I was watching T.V. It felt good. It felt good to see myself improve. Yoga also showed let me prove to myself the strength I already possessed, which I never realized prior to this experience. It was the strength from within. During each class, I proved to myself how strong I am. Prior to the latest illness, I hadn’t lifted weights for a few months. I had only been attending Jazzercise and attempting to do cardio. My physical strength wasn’t as much as I would like it to be, but it wasn’t about the physical strength. Not for me. Yoga was my way of finding me and building mental strength.

Yoga is an interesting thing; it is really the only time during the day, where I do not think about anything else but what I am doing at that very second. I didn’t believe THAT was possible. But after a few times, I realized that my mind never wondered. I never consciously thought about work, family, plans, the weekend. Only that pose that I was trying to accomplish. Yes, when I run, I do it to clear my head, to think... but Yoga. I don’t think in Yoga. I focus on the challenge. I focus on conquering the pose and challenging myself. It’s surprising to me on how relaxed I am after finishing a class. I feel that peace everyone always talks about. I also feel a sense of accomplishment, of pride. I might not be know that I am not the most graceful or completely accurate person attending this class. I get that, but I am doing things that I never thought possible. The mental strength is showing me how much physical strength I really do have. I don’t need heavy weights to show me that, all I need is my body and mind. Every class I push myself. I dig a little deeper. I feel the pose that much more. I feel the rewards physically, I feel and see the strength my body is developing.

And yes. I feel like I worked out after a class… After most classes I notice that I am ‘glissing.’

People always say ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ I believe the reason why I got so wrapped up in Yoga was to find the strength inside of me.

Each time, I gain a little more muscle a little more definition. But each time, I prove to myself just how strong I really am.