Have you ever said yes to a relationship which you know in your heart will last a lifetime? I have. And I am proud to say I made that commitment 12 years ago… with my mat.
It’s been more than a decade now since I began my romance with Yoga. It was rough in the beginning, with all its demands and standards. Like most people getting into a relationship, I found myself doing so much sacrifices just to meet expectations. Unexplained emotions fill me up constantly because it brings about a mix of happiness, pain, calm and anxiety, all at once. And that part of the practice that I can’t seem to put my finger on then, I found intriguing. The want to figure it out made me go back, and eventually made me grow with it.
The initial reason I got into it was to lose weight. With the work I do, I’m sure you’ve heard of that 10 pounds extra that just doesn’t sit well on cam. I have been used to lifting weights and really going at it with various gym equipments to stay in shape. However, looking bulky didn’t help me at work. Cut it short, I found myself in a hot room, on a mat, stretching every part of me to slender me up for TV.
But little did I know, that what began as an exercise will eventually become a lifestyle.
From Bikram to Ashtanga, from student to teacher, from singlehood to motherhood–Yoga allowed me to transition with ease. It has been said time and again how yoga is not just of the physical, but of a totality that brings you to your true and higher self.
I will always be grateful for how it allows me to evolve with grace despite my imperfections. It has been patient with my growth, and kind with my flaws. It strengthens my heart, as it encourages my mind. It lets me as it holds me, and keeps me as it moves me. It made me aware of who I really am, forgives when I forget, and is there when I want to start all over again.
Yoga came as a blessing meant to stay. My attraction to what I thought was chaos, was actually a repressed desire to correct the foolish in me. The expectations, demands and standards were all self imposed and it was Yoga that revealed the beauty and peace that has always been within.
12 years ago, I said yes to a life-long relationship. I was reintroduced to my new self, and it was a commitment I made then to always love, honor, and accept who I was, who I am, and who I will be.
Namaste.
Yoga is an integral part of my life, is it yours, too? Tell me about your first yoga experience on the comments section!