After practicing and teaching yoga for almost 10 years I have learned a lot. I have learned how yoga practice affects people’s lives, how yoga has helped me, and how important yoga practice is for everyone.

Yoga is our tool to connect deeply with our soul, breath, and spirit. It helps us to let go of our busy lives and tune into ourselves. It teaches us to listen. Our bodies are always sending us signals and when we are too busy or not connected usually we ignore those signals. If we take a moment and start to listen to our bodies by tune inwards, we might start to notice things that we have been carrying for a long time without knowing it.

By practicing yoga you start to understand your body more; how it moves, reacts, and feels. You will find that some poses are more challenging than others. They can feel both physically and emotionally challenging. When you truly begin listening to your body, you become much more aware of your body and its needs.

Yoga also guides you to start learning how your brain works from your reactions and emotions in certain situations. When entering or holding a pose that feels challenging you might experience frustrations and less patience. With time, you learn how to accept those feelings and control them in a way that they don’t take over and control you. You learn to use your breath to help you let go. You learn to stay connected with your body and soul and not let your mind control your behavior. The mind can be so powerful and can pull you out of situations quickly, but what if we train our mind to connect more with the body and soul. What if we allow ourselves to feel the emotions and welcome them instead of judging them.

The beauty of yoga is that you are always a student. You learn something new in each practice and your body and mind take in something new every time you step on the mat. Taking your experiences and knowledge on the mat into your daily life will strengthen you as a person and help you understand why you react in a certain way.

Think about how you feel next when doing yoga practice and notice if any poses challenge you more than others, how you react to them and how they make you feel. See if you can let go of your ego, allow your breath to help you stay in connection with your body, and not let the mind control your behavior.