What I Gain From Time Spent on the Yoga Mat

And what I release

Practicing yoga has myriad benefits: building strength, improving balance, and increasing mobility. As you age, all of this becomes even more important for maintaining an active lifestyle. You can get all of the above by functional training in the gym. However, this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of what you gain from time spent on the yoga mat.

What’s special about practicing yoga is the mind/body connection. When you practice yoga poses, you connect your body with your breath. This brings you into the present moment. Anxiety lives in the future, and regret lives in the past. In the present there is only calm. Peace. Breath. The only thing bringing you to the past or the future is your mind.

The past already happened. No matter how much time you ruminate over it, there’s no changing it. The future may never happen. You can plan as much as you like, there’s no guarantee that your plan will come to fruition. You only have control over the moment you are in. How often is your mind actually in this moment?

Yoga teaches you to be in the moment that you’re in. It’s harder than it sounds, which is why yoga is a practice (not a perfect). The more you practice, the more you have access to this presence when you’re off the mat and in your life. Even a brief 15 minute practice, like what I’ll be teaching in December’s Holiday Burnout Solution event, can completely change how you feel.

My practice

I have been practicing yoga for 30 years and in that time, my practice has grown and changed as I have. In my 20s, my practice was dynamic, competitive with other students, and I was striving for perfection. Now that I’m in my 50s, my practice is still dynamic, but is mindful. I listen to my body and move according to what feels good. If I lose my balance, I chuckle to myself, then try again. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone, not even to myself.

Each practice is new. I have certain sequences that I fall back on periodically, but when I practice it’s just me and my mat. My body and my breath. This is time for me to nourish myself physically, and emotionally. It’s time for me to slow down and be with my thoughts and physical sensations to see what comes up. What matters most is that I meet myself where I am on any given day.

Some days I practice for an hour. Other days it’s 10-15 minutes. Regardless of how many poses I practice, it’s always time well spent. I leave the mat feeling grounded, centered, strong, and mentally clear. I leave all of the stiffness I woke up with on the mat so it doesn’t bother me for the rest of the day. I release my fatigued or overstimulated mind and leave that on the mat as well. And sometimes there’s sweat.

Science of yoga

Yoga isn’t just “weird” physical poses, it’s an 8 part science to help you live a peaceful life. The physical poses make your body strong and supple so that you can sit more comfortably in meditation. Meditation helps you slow your racing thoughts so you can get to know your mind. The mind believes all sorts of stories that we’ve acquired from living a human life; meditation helps you sort out what’s true and what is only a story.

The Yamas and Niyamas, which I wrote about last year and make up much of my two books, are yoga practices off the mat. They are ways to curb your mind and practice peace with your actions. Contentment, Non-Harming, Non-Excess, and Self-Study are a few such practices. When you live a more peaceful life, you feel more peaceful. Being a verbal abuser in your own head doesn’t help you feel more peaceful. When you are kind to yourself, being kind to others comes naturally.

The Yamas and Niyamas, poses, breath work, and meditative practices make up the science of yoga. When you live your yoga practice, to the best of your ability, it’s easier to handle conflict. You cope better with things not going your way. You are able to respond rather than react. I strongly believe that if the whole world practiced yoga, we’d all be able to live together peacefully. I can dream…

Practicing yoga

I teach yoga online for active adults over 50 who want to stay active for as long as possible. Whether you’ve been practicing for years or have never stepped on a mat before, you are welcome at Purple Room Yoga. I offer classes focused specifically on strength, stretching, or meditation, plus classes that integrate everything. Come to class up to 15 minutes early to chat, ask questions, or make requests (I always take requests). Please take advantage of the 10 Day All Access Free Trial to check out all the things.

If you tend to feel burned out over the holidays, finding it hard to make time for yourself, I am offering the Holiday Burnout Solution: three weeks of three 15 minute classes per week to help you feel more supported without overwhelm. These classes can be taken live online or on demand at your leisure.

If you are interested in the books that I mentioned about the Yamas and Niyamas, please click the graphic below.