Stretch It Out

I can’t say I got hooked into the whole yoga thing straight from the beginning. I started practicing yoga over a year and a half ago as I had heard so much about its benefits in releasing tension. In the beginning I could only feel the stretching aspects of it (believe me, doing it on a regular basis can make someone as stiff as I was super flexible). It wasn't until I had tried different styles and spent many hours doing it that I started seeing the deeper picture. Yoga is a very personal experience. It is a gift you can give to your body as there is nothing more divine than connecting to your spirit. In the beginning what I felt was being more aware of my body. Then I started to listen. And this is when the secrets of the practice start to reveal themselves. Being aware, being present and mindful of your inner and outer world are only some of these secret powers, which practices like yoga and meditation can really promote. Personally, for me the most important lesson that yoga has thought me was to surrender. Just like in a difficult pose, we have to realize our weaknesses, accept them and even be grateful to God for giving us this weakness. Then, we take a deep breath in, we breath out and with each breath relive the self-confidence that we can do it, we can go further, we can stretch deeper, be more flexible and as far as we go just be patient. Patience, gratefulness and love will come with time.