Find Your Balance Yoga

 My body always asks for it: please do some yoga! It feels like a mini massage to release tension. I also come out of yoga with a clearer mind and a stronger sense of purpose. 

There are point markers and a middle line to help you into the correct pose which is important as a beginner. Now I’ve been practicing yoga on and off since 2013, so I know enough beginner poses to do my own yoga flow in the morning. I wanted to commit myself to yoga because it’s an ancient medicine practice (the first book on yoga was written 2,500 years ago by an author named Patanjali). Yoga has so many proven health benefits like decreasing depression and improving blood flow. Good posture is essential to a healthy life. This mat feels like a piece of high-quality gym equipment in my little one bedroom apartment.

Lately my body requests grounding poses. A non slip mat like this one carries my weight as I move from Cow pose to Downward Facing Dog.

I admit as a beginner with a mind like a bumble bee hive, I have trouble sitting still. I recommend yoga sprints – so 15 minute yoga practice in the morning, afternoon, and before bed.

Another grounding pose that opens the hip is Tree Pose or Vrksasana. Imagine a tree with its foundation of roots that give it its strength. This will help you find balance.

Warrior pose 2 or Virabhadrasana II is another pose that gives me power. It connects you to your intentions and brings focus.

The lotus pose Padmasana is something I do instintcively when I have to escape the noise, it instantly quiets the space around me.

This mat is going to help me transform into the beautiful strong woman I was meant to become. Being off balance causes stress. A spiritual teacher taught me to say “Sooo” when you inhale in your head, and on the exhale, “Ummmm” a deep vibrating tone. He explained that those words were the sound of my Self. The jurist and Tantric scholar Sir John Woodroffe wrote that the breath is a mantra that is not recited because it is said with volition. The scholar also wrote that breath is expressed through inspiration (Sa) or expiration (Ha). What the yogi had said was true – so/um.

In.

Out.

The breath is evidence that the mind and the body are connected. When you’re angry, your breath is quick. When you’re sad, your breath is different. Breathing is the fastest and most efficent way to find my center, even when I’m struggling with something difficult. It reminds me that I am not my emotions.

Yoga is coming back to yourself and releasing tension. I’ve heard from a yoga instructor that if you only did 3 hours a week then you’d feel better and make more mindful decisions. You can order your own yoga mat from Amazon using my link here: Find Your Balance yoga mat