It depends on who you ask! For some, yoga is a good sweaty workout. For others, it’s something fun to do with friends, with goats, with cats, with wine. Yoga can be perceived to be an activity or a state of being.
Everyone has their own perception of what yoga is, and even among yoga scholars, you will get different definitions and practices to achieve it.
From my perspective, yoga is an ancient self-care practice that brings out the best in you and can be practiced by anyone who is conscious and breathing. Yoga has been taught for thousands of years and consists of many practices using movement, breath work, chanting, mantra, meditation, philosophy, ritual, prayer, and many other tools to refine and connect body, mind, and spirit in a way that allows your brightest light to shine through. That is yoga to me.
So, how are you to figure out what special recipe of all those yoga ingredients is just right for you right now? How can you get the results you want from a yoga practice in the least amount of time and effort? Find and have a conversation with an experienced compassionate teacher! A teacher you really like who likes you, who will listen to you and will observe your current state of body and mind. Share with that teacher how you would prefer to feel, physically, mentally, and emotionally. The two of you can develop a practice just for you to move you in the direction you deeply desire, from exactly where you are today, no experience necessary. You don’t even have to leave home.
If you can breathe, you can practice yoga. Even 10 minutes a day will change your life! Let’s talk.