Why I changed my mind about Yoga

I started yoga a few years ago for the wrong reasons, I wasn’t particularly concerned about my wellness and I didn’t really appreciate the spiritual side of yoga, but it was the thing that every surfer and cool girls were doing so I liked to say that I was doing it, even if my practice consisted in 2 or 3 classes a year really. This yoga trend grew very quickly and suddenly there were fancy yogis everywhere on social media, showing their best postures in a 100€ pair of leggings or eating an açaï bowl full of goji berries with a detox tea, #cliché. I started to think that all of this was ridiculous, and even if I appreciated yoga more and more I got away from it, I didn’t want to fall under that cliché of the surfer-yogi-healthy girl, cool and instagram friendly, I thought it was fake and I didn’t identify with this “character”.

Then time passed, I traveled (California, Bali), I discovered the benefits (and the pleasure) of doing sports on a daily basis, I learned a lot about nutrition and food, and I started to do yoga! This time my motivations were totally different, after a knee injury due to running, my physio told me that I needed to strengthen my muscles deeply and that yoga and pilate would be perfect for me. A week later it was the osteo’s turn to explain to me that stress and working behind a computer all day cause physical blockages, especially on the hips for me, and that yoga would be very good for me. Well ok… got the message, so I signed up for a few yoga classes, for my own good, for my health, and not just to be the cool girl this time!

Of course that experience was totally different, I finally understood what yoga really was, a moment you take for yourself, to treat yourself well, to listen to yourself, to love yourself but also to be more conscious of your own body, of the world around you and to show humility and gratitude. I really felt the benefits of yoga and I now understand why so many people are practicing it. Then I did some research to learn more and found out that the physical exercise that we all know is only a part of yoga and that it is actually a whole philosophy and a full lifestyle.

Today I completely changed my mind about yoga and I practice it more regularly but without ever forcing myself, and I am learning step by step all its aspects. I now realize that some things that I thought were cliché, like eating extremely healthy or being vegetarian, meditation, zen attitude, etc. are integral parts of yoga and go along with the physical practice when seeking vitality and serenity. Beyond the trend, it is a true lifestyle with the aim of being in good health and having a good quality of life, it explains why so many people are getting into it, myself included!

What about you, do you do yoga? What do you think about it? Tell me about your yoga experience in the comments, I am curious to know how all of you see this discipline :)

If you live in the Landes or the Bask Country, you can check all the yoga events of the region on Agenda Yoga, it is very complete and often updated. You will also find all the studios and teachers of the area, included Diane, Agenda Yoga’s founder, under the name of Panya yoga, I go to her class every week and highly recommend her, she is attentive to everyone’s needs and very sweet in her teaching.

Talk soon,

Lolita