"When I started yoga, my aim
was to improve my flexibility & mobility for weightlifting & training. Little did I know that it would give me so much more
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I had always heard how yoga helped people cope with stress, emotional & eating disorders & changed lives, but I couldn't understand how "stretching" can have such a profound impact inwardly
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As my practice evolves, so has my understanding of what yoga is. It is so much more than pretty poses or becoming flexible. Yoga has given me the gift of self-awareness, the present moment & a creative outlet. It's given me a safe environment to love myself & be myself. It's given me a confidence to trust my judgement, to speak what is in my heart & share my life experiences with others. It has taught me to listen to my body & appreciate all that it can do, to be patient with myself & allow things to happen in their time.
It has shown me that everything can change within a matter of a few deep breaths
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There was a {long} time in my life where I believed that I needed to be “beautiful” in order to be accepted & loved, & I spent years trying to fix or cover up my physical imperfections that I thought weren’t beautiful. My idea of beauty was much more an idea of physical perfection & was only as deep as the layers of skin that clung to my body
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Needless to say, I was an insecure mess who couldn’t see past the reflection in the mirror, & despite my endeavours to reach perfection, never truly believed I was beautiful. No selfies. Ever
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I guess I had somehow come to the conclusion that physical beauty = worth, & couldn’t have been more wrong
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Now I am much less concerned with the reflection I see in the mirror & much more concerned about what’s going on inside my head & in my heart .
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Sure I have days when I don’t feel great about myself, but I now realise that who I am trumps how I look any day. I've learned to look inside, to let go & to love myself as I am
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Yoga has given me all this 🙏
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And I'm only just at the beginning of my journey ❤"
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