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8 Significant Ways Yoga Changed my Life

for the Better

I’m just going to give a little shout out to Yoga here, since it’s given me so, very much.

I used to be one of those people that wanted to be able to exercise, but just couldn’t push myself into actually doing it.

I HATED physical exercise. My asthmatic lungs fought back every time I went for a run, my weak muscles screamed when I went to the gym, and my upbringing meant I had no special abilities in any kind of sport.

I’d always resisted yoga, thinking that it wouldn’t actually DO anything. It looked too easy, and the fact that everybody was doing it made me even more turned-off.

Then one day I just gave it a chance and I have never looked back. Here are a few areas where yoga changed my life:

Mental Health

I have suffered from depression and anxiety on and off for half my life and have been on a long road trying to find ways to deal with them that are right for me. I discovered both yoga and meditation at around the same time two years ago, so for me they go hand in hand. But I enjoy the yoga much more, and therefore do more of it.

I’ve found my rhythm, I know how far to push my body, and now I find it has a calming effect on me. If something is stresses me out and I can’t concentrate, I go do yoga. If I have something important on that day, I do yoga before it. The change in my ability to deal with the stresses of everyday life has been huge and I’m so thankful to have finally found a natural way of dealing with it all.

Posture

For years I felt guilty about my bad posture and would always attempt to correct myself whenever I noticed myself sitting or standing badly (which admittedly wasn’t often). Yoga and meditation both focus heavily on posture and by doing a lot of them, you will find that you begin to naturally stay in good posture. If you have significantly bad posture you can even to yoga exercises targeting areas to be worked on.

Breath

I was a snotty, sniffily kid. And I was a snotty, sniffily teenager as well. There were jokes in my friends group at school about my inability to EVER breathe through my nose. My asthma was shocking. My sleeves forever covered in snail-trails. I’d been that way for so long I didn’t even really know what it was like to be able to smell!

Now every time I do yoga, I take control of my breath, slowing it down, lowering my heart rate AND I clear up my nose.

Sexiness

I was going to say fitness but I felt like sexiness fit better with what I’m trying to say. I was never overweight so it’s not that I lost loads of weight doing yoga. But this is about how YOU FEEL. And since yoga helps keep me fit and healthy, in turn I feel a lot sexier.

Sex

Stamina? Improved. Breathing? Improved. Positions? Hell yeah! I’m not going to expand on this but when your partner can bend you and your legs around in any position they like, you’re both going to have a great time.

Strength

After about a year of practicing yoga I decided I needed to work on my weak little arms. I was having trouble with poses that involved arm strength and my inability was becoming annoying. I was slightly apprehensive as I found big arm muscles on women unattractive. But I incorporated extra arm strengthening exercises into my favourite routine. Now I have tiny but noticeable arm muscles and I feel great. I can do anything!

Back Pain

I work at my computer for around 10-12 hours per day. Before I started doing yoga that shit was getting to me physically. At 24 I started to see a chiropractor which concluded that my neck was all bent, and that’s why my lower and upper back was always hurting. I paid a lot of money trying to get realigned, but seeing a chiropractor isn’t sustainable. Daily yoga has helped me to ease my back pain and is WAYYYYY cheaper!

Ability to Show-off

Possibly the day I learned how to do a headstand was the day I began to brag about yoga. I worked so damn hard to perfect my headstand ability and now revel in the chance to show it off. I’m terribly proud of the fact that I can effortlessly do two different types of headstand and now look forward to learning the scorpion pose!

I Now Have an Addiction

Okay, addiction is a little bit of an over-statement. But it is literally the only physical exercise (other than walking) that I’m motivated to do on a daily basis. I actually like it. I’ve never been addicted to anything before… except for maybe cups of tea. I’ve joined the club, jumped on the bandwagon, become a lemur… and I couldn’t be happier. THANKS, YOGA and all my amazing yoga teachers!

How has yoga changed YOUR life? Tell me in the comments below!