What did Yoga do to me...

When I decided to write about this particular topic, many results popped into my mind. I’ve had so many ideas what to say and how but the volume would be enough to cover a whole book.

And I do not want to write a book about yoga. Because Yoga is about doing not writing. You will never learn about yoga from books and scripts and by watching the people who do yoga (yogis). You can only experience the benefits for yourself when you roll out your mat, place your feet firmly into the ground and press your palms in front of your chest hard. And you take the plunge.

3 years ago I was traveling in India. I tried different styles, talked to many “gurus” and sort of kind of liked the idea of me being a yogi. But did I know why I want to do it or which form suits me best? Little I knew. The image of a beautiful sunrise at the beach and me doing a sun salut would hunt me in my head. But that’s what it was. Just a picture. Far away from reality where I did not understand why I should do yoga or least, why I should go through the torture of getting up early in the morning for some funny poses.

I started a teacher yoga training and hated everything about it. Only the idea stayed. I dropped out of it after 3 days and went on with my life thinking, well, this yoga thing is just not for me. Fast forward to couple of months ago I did the same foolish thing, I signed up to a different teacher training in Dublin. I was thrilled with my decision and I did make damn sure that this was the right course for me. (Note: I needed those 2 years in between just to recover from the not so pleasant experience of yoga in India).

Two months into the training my teacher asked me: so how is your personal practice going? I said Great! I do yoga whenever I want, as much as I want and as I want. And how is that working out for ya? He smiled. I knew what he meant. I did need to go through a serious conversation with myself about my commitment to the intention of staying in the course. I could either drift away with my own ways or do it the way it is designed. And I did opt for the not so pleasant path of committing to a regular practice. And then it happened when I started seeing results for myself.

I admit, I hated the word commitment. For me it seemed more like a bondage or a trap I fall into and never dig myself out of. Ever. Like for eternity. That much scared I was of the C word. But I stayed. I came back to the mat almost every day and got hooked up on it massively. Not because somebody was telling me to do so but because I could FEEL the difference. I noticed my mindset getting lighter, more relaxed body and general feeling good more of the time. And I wanted more. Of course, like a junkie I would return to the thing that made me happy.

And it makes me happy since then. I am still in my teacher training. I do not practice every day simply because I know myself better and I learnt to work with myself rather than against myself. I know that there is always a perfect time to get into my stretchy pants. As a matter of habit I am always dressing up for my own practice as if I was going to a yoga studio even though I could be doing yoga in my pajamas. I do yoga everywhere. In my hotel room when on a business trip, in my parents living room when going home for Christmas or in the play room at work where people play table football. And I intend to do so for the future as well.

So if you are looking for a reason to start yoga, look no further and just try it out. You would never explain to anyone how a chocolate taste but rather you would give them a piece to taste for themselves. Yoga is an experience, and a life changing one on top.

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