Most practitioners understand that yoga makes us feel better mentally and physically but as our practice evolves, it’s easy to become attached to poses and lose sight of what brought us to yoga. For many of us, it was probably connected to joy or how we felt expansive, grounded or liberated in our bodies.
My favorite yoga lesson is happiness lies within. When I connected internally with my body, I immediately feel ease, find self-compassion, and locate calm and peace from within.
Wouldn’t it feel great to come back into the reason why we started practicing yoga in the first place?
Cultivating joy (or rediscovering joy in our practice) can help us soften around the tendency to push or strain ourselves in practice. We don’t have to take yoga so seriously. We can have fun, smile, and feel joy in practice. And when we do, there are hidden benefits to cultivating joy in yoga.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF YOGA?
Yoga immediately calms my body and mind. It helps my body stay open and receptive during seasonal changes in the cooler months. I am habitually more inclined to retract and tense myself to brace against the cold but have noticed yoga relaxes my body beautifully during winter. Yoga also improves my posture. As I have deepened my practice, I notice myself standing taller, and naturally adjusting my stance to suit each situation I encounter throughout the day. I feel strong in my bones, connected and full of warm energy.
YOGA BRINGS SIMPLICITY
I use the simplicity of just noticing my breath throughout my day. If I find it is quite shallow, I deepen my breath. Elongating both the inhale and exhale calms my system and immediately brings a deeper connection within. Noticing the pause moments between each breath reminds me to take those pause moments into my day.
YOGA BRINGS JOY AND A SENSE OF WELLBEING
Practising yoga ripples out powerfully in unexpected ways. Now I am much more inclined to take “pause” moments when moving between one task and the next. I appreciate how bringing presence and awareness to simple things, like putting my feet up to truly enjoy the ritual of sipping fragrant tea replenishes me. I am then well prepared for whatever is next and can flow with much greater ease between each situation life brings. Yoga teaches me to be very kind and gentle with myself. When I nurture myself with yoga, which promotes joy and space within, I have more space and joy to share with others. I am grateful to the profound impact Yoga has on my life.
The overall health benefits of joy in yoga are enormous. So, the next time you start to grimace, push, feel tension or become too attached to poses, take a pause and tap into your internal joy quotient. It’s available any time we go within. Bringing joy back into our practice can improve the yoga experience.
Love life, love yoga.