4 Things We Wish We’d Known About Yoga From The Start

Whether you sought your yoga life out intentionally, or suddenly found yourself falling into the yoga world completely by accident, there are a few things along the way that we didn’t necessarily understand from the get go. Along the wonderful journey into yogahood we seem to have several aha moments, that left us scratching our head as to why nobody told us sooner! 

Strange noises

Ok, who let Darth Vader into the class and why on earth didn’t he bring his inhaler if he knew he’d be working out. What’s that? Oh, it’s intentional. Yes it turns out those heavy breathers aren’t distracting attention seekers after all, they’re just getting into their practice. Once we drop our self conscious thoughts around ujjayi breath we realise what an awesome tool it can be to help maintain focus and create a rhythm throughout our practice. 

Slouch potato

Yoga leggings are the most comfortable thing on this earth. FACT. Why were we punishing our pelvis in jeans for so long. Our first yoga legging purchases were intended solely for practicing yoga in. Yet slowly and steadily they migrate into the rest of our daily life until we start genuinely wondering if it’s acceptable or not to wear your dressy yoga pants out on Jane’s hen do this saturday night. Oh beloved yoga leggings, you are flocking fabulous, how did we ever live without you?!

#envyme

The glossy yoga we see on social media looks cool, but it’s not real yoga. Whilst we all may love to follow our fave yoga sites and personalities for inspiration, yoga is not about sunset beach handstands to share with the world. It’s not about mastering tricky poses to impress ourselves and others. In fact, away from all the marketing, real yoga has nothing to do with anyone else and everything to do with self. It’s about taking time out to pay attention to us. Our body. Our breath. Our mind chatter. 

Blood, sweat and tears

Yoga is one of those blessed activities, a bit like dancing, where you don’t need to almost kill yourself in order to prove that you’ve had a good workout. There is nothing more satisfying in life than physical movement that brings enjoyment rather than dread. Whilst we can always challenge our body during a yoga class, there’s a pleasure in the practice that hits so many more spots than an hour on the treadmill ever could. Who knew exercise could be so fun?!

Did we miss something? Comment below and let us know what you wish someone had told you about yoga from the start....