How Yoga Changed My Life - Courtney

I guess it’s time for me to write this too! How has/did Yoga change my life? Well now, the fact that Yoga is now my life, and was once not even a figment of my imagination, says something.

I came to Yoga because my friend was a new teacher and kept encouraging me to come to her classes. I had tried the occasional Yoga class in the past, but nothing stuck. I guess I wasn’t ready. But sometime around 2007, I was. I’m not sure why I even started going to class. At the time I was managing a restaurant, running marathons, being a part-time photographer, and a full-time partier. I always enjoyed physical activity and was happy to add Yoga to the mix. I really enjoyed how the physical practice of Yoga balanced out my long-distance running, and helped to deeply stretch all those tight muscles. But sneakily, and very early on, the spiritual piece of the Yoga practice crept in. I stopped going to any other form of group exercise class, as they never felt as complete as Yoga. I found my “things”. Running and photography were very meditative practices in their own right, and then the addition of the Yoga practice really started to open me up. I felt so good after each class. I would sometimes have emotional releases in class. I really felt like I was coming “home”. To what? To myself and my spirit.

I thank Yoga for opening me up to spirituality and a connection with God/a higher power. (I still have trouble using the word God). Maybe I’ll say Divine. But through this “coming home” I opened up to the possibility of this higher power, this energetic connection to all that is the Universe we exist in. Yoga literally helped me to see the light, to be open to the possibility that my small mind is not in control of everything. And once I opened up, the rest was history.

I ferociously practiced and read all of the books and magazines I could get my hands on. I did a Yoga Teacher Training only so I could learn more. That teacher training did lead me to teaching, and then learning about Ayurveda. Fast forward to today, this is what my life is about. I live and breathe this every day. I love it all so much and just want to share this knowledge with anyone who’s interested in listening.

We all come to Yoga in different ways, from different avenues. But many are introduced through the physical practice, because it’s easy for us to “get” or “understand”. We almost always feel good after a class or personal practice. But the more we practice, we realize there’s so much more, so many life changing aspects and possibilities. And this is what I love about Yoga and Ayurveda and all of the Vedic Sciences. The history and philosophy is so vast, I know that I can continue to study for lifetimes to come. I will not get bored, and there are so many directions in which I can go.

To sum it all up, Yoga has brought me to the place where I have found and continue to find my connection to the Divine and to the Universe as a whole. And in turn I’m learning more about myself and who I’m truly meant to be, and what my place is here. I’m just continuing to understand more and become a “better” human being. And I am so lucky to have found this thing that I can continue to practice and study for my entire life.

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