Why Do I Practice Yoga?

I am learning about myself, discovering myself through pondering, experiencing, and observing movement in my body, and how my body responds to movement. I am not just doing exercise or building muscles, I am listening, feeling, sensing.

When I create a new felt sense awareness in my body that makes me feel good, I can recreate this feeling at another time, in another situation. This can create new neural passageways from the brain to different muscles and areas of the body that can actually in time, change my posture, change the way I carry myself, change the way I feel about myself and change the way I relate to the world.

This is why I would not watch television or listen to a podcast while I practice yoga, unless it is about the yoga class. My brain and all my senses are present and in tune with my practice.

And then I take this felt sense with me when I finish the yoga practice. It becomes something that I ponder in other circumstances. A felt sense is something that I’ll remember, because it becomes a somatic experience, a body experience, not just a thought. And because I’ll remember it, I can recreate it in other circumstances and it can become part of my ability to grow and change both physically and spiritually.

Wonders of the human body

Posture correction feeling inner support

Pain reduction

Learning to listen also to others

Valuing myself and learning to honor others, listening to others.

Messages from the body to the soul

Non competitive, learning experience. It doesn’t matter what others are doing, it’s what I am doing, and how it affects me.

If you don’t remember the sequence, make it up.

No pain no gain. Pain, red flag, body is speaking. Work within your level of challenge. Move to enable more movement, enjoyment, more energy, consistency, ability to recreate sense of wellbeing, more understanding, more learning of yourself. More awe with the amazing workings of the human body.