Why Yoga?

There are so many reasons I started practicing yoga and even more reasons why I continue. My initial reason was to help repair my diastasis recti. As I learned about the ab separation I have and why its so, I decided I needed to focus on my body as a whole. I also wanted to do some cool asanas and not just those boring core postures lol. Core postures are so important though, I just get bored easily so I needed to explore movement within yoga. Thats when I learned about Vinyasa flow and so on. By no means am I even an intermediate level yogi, but some days I pretend to be lol

Ok, we are getting off track. I explained why I began yoga, now I will get into why I continue to practice. I am so ashamed to admit, but I have issues. I have moments of depression and low self esteem! Shocking, I know if you know me personally, but yes its true. I also have the problem of comparing myself to almost everyone else, and wondering if I need to change so many things about myself and my life. Even though I am truly blessed, I still would feel sad for no reason and just question if I am truly happy. This is when I decided I needed to be able to take time away from it all and just be. Just breathe, think, reflect, and feel that I am ok! I will never forget my first few yoga sessions, I instantly felt like a heavy weight was lifted. I was on an emotional high. I felt so good, and this was only after maybe 20 minutes or so lol. So, its very easy to see why I continue yoga... but there are so many more reasons~

My self esteem issues... smh, I can't believe I am going here. Don't get me wrong, I know Im not ugly and I know theres nothing "wrong" with me. But again, I would constantly worry about how I think I should look?!?!? Jarred tells me all the time I am beautiful just the way I am, and that I don't need to change a thing. He gets so upset when I share my body issues with him, because he just doesn't see me as I see myself. He sees a beautiful person inside and out, without flaws and I truly love him for that. He doesn't care that I have locs, he doesn't care about my flabby stomach, stretch marks, or skinny legs. These are all my issues. But with yoga, I am really learning to appreciate all my "flaws" they aren't even really flaws! My biggest insecurity right now is my stomach and sometimes flabby small appearing boobs lol ( hey child birth and breastfeeding did this ) The more I practice, the more I am loving my body just the way it is. I am becoming more concerned with my overall health, more so than my physical appearance. Being half naked in yoga outfits, has made me so much more confident. I always felt really skinny , like I had no shape lol. But the more I look at myself and feel my body moving and muscles working, I see that I'm not so bad after all lol.

I still have such a long way to go, but I feel so much better than I did months ago. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I know if I continue this journey I am on, I won't be disappointed. I encourage everyone to try yoga, theres something in it for everyone, mediation alone is powerful! Just taking a moment to breath and relax your mind and body,with just the sound of your breath is uplifting. How many times a day do we just consciously breathe? Of course we are breathing all day long, but to mindfully breath in and out for even just a few breaths will do wonders~! Give it a try, you will not be disappointed! Namaste :)