I've been committed to yoga for several months now. Yoga benefits me in so many ways, including mentally and physically. When I heard the term yoga in the past I instantly thought of stretching and meditation. Once I started doing it, I began to experience reduced blood pressure, stress reduction, reduced anxiety, reduced headaches, increased flexibility, increased strength, and more tone in my body.
Even in moments that I feel anxious, like when I finally get my 3 children up for school, wake them up for the 3rd time (because they fall back asleep when the door closes), get myself ready for work, make sure that the dog is fed, and finally drop my daughter off and start my drive, I've been through a rigorous drill. The next saga starts because next it's time to try to get to work on time. I'm able to calm down and prepare myself for the day by using breathing exercises in the car while mediating on bringing my whole being from complete rush mode to a calmer state of being. Abdominal breathing in the car is amazing! I first learned about abdominal breathing and progressive muscle relaxation in graduate school, as a technique to also help people who stutter to reduce anxiety before speaking. I teach it frequently to my students with a diagnosis of fluency disorder (e.g. stuttering) to reduce anxiety before speaking in front of a group. Now I declare that it's my go to after a rigorous morning of rushing or whenever else I need to use these tools.
Once a week, I attend a class that focuses on stretching, meditation, and breathing. From day 1 this class was life changing for me. I promise I never thought that yoga could be so challenging. I say that because every moment that I had to do a new pose, I realized that even though I did cardio twice a week, there were muscles that I clearly wasn't using to maximum potential. I know this because I could hardly climb stairs the next day, after my first yoga class. LOL! The positive affirmations, and ability to have a quiet moment is also amazing for me because I'm always running and making sure that everything is ok for everyone when I'm not at work. Downward dog is one of the poses that's done weekly in my class, amongst several other poses. I love this pose, because for me it's just so calming. My 3 year old labrador also knows the benefits, because even before I started this class I noticed that it's the first thing that she does when she wakes up. My husband used to comment that she did this pose when she felt stressed, like when everyone at home is doing something and she wants to be rubbed. She'll come right up to you and do this pose. I actually caught her doing it and had my camera ready. LOL!
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| My dog does downward dog several times daily and always when she wakes up in the morning. |
I clearly see where this pose got it's name. LOL! I would have previously laughed at the thought of doing yoga, or thought that it was easy peasy, but now I declare that yoga and downward dog among many other poses are great for toning both body and mind. I love yoga as it helps me to de-stress in the midst of all that life brings. When all else fails just remember to breathe and meditate on something positive!
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