How Yoga has Transformed Me

Guess what, guys? I’m officially a yoga teacher!

Now that my teacher training is complete, I thought it would be an appropriate time to take a moment to reflect on how this month has changed me.

For the title of this post, I originally wrote “My Body.” Then, I realized that yoga has changed more than that for me.

I am more flexible than I probably have ever been in my entire life.

Now, by yoga standards, I am still not very flexible. My past as a runner has blessed me with some wicked tight hamstrings and hips. However, I am truly amazed by how much daily practice can do in a relatively short about of time. I went from barely getting my leg into half lotus, to a full lotus in less than a month. In a forward fold or down dog, I sometimes almost fall into it because I expected my body to start resisting sooner. 🙂 It’s pretty cool.

My posture and standing position have improved.

Photo Credit: Mel Koossy, Shala Plus

Nearly from the start, I was much more conscious of my posture. This has continued, and I definitely feel it has improved.

The more interesting part to me is my standing position. I have been pretty sore throughout the training process, but this past week became downright uncomfortable. I has continued into the past couple of days (which makes since, because I haven’t rested much). Yesterday, I was really uncomfortable just standing for a relatively short time. I was in comfortable shoes and just couldn’t figure out the problem. Then, I glanced in the mirror and noticed that I had all my weight shifted into one hip (my choir teacher in high school used to call it “pissy girl hip,” haha). Not very yoga. So, I evened out the weight in both feet, and, BAM, discomfort went away. Pretty wild.

I’m stronger.

I remember on one of the first days of training, we went through warrior sequence, in which we have to hold warrior one and two on each side of five full breaths. I couldn’t do it in the beginning. Now, I do it regularly, and I could definitely do it longer. My chataranga is a huge improvement as well.

Photo credit: Mel Koossy, Shala Plus

This part is probably my biggest thing I want to promote. So many people (me included at one point) view yoga as “less” than a workout, as it is supposed to be relaxing and connect you to yourself. Sure, it does that, but you also get super sweaty and toned in the process, with a method of yoga that is built for those results.

I’m more poised and take better care of myself.

I don’t know if I can completely attribute this to yoga, or if it is just the result of what I have learned recently with my life changes. Regardless, I truly feel like a better version of me. I take the time to think about what I need and how to achieve it. There was a time, not so long ago, when if something didn’t work for me, I would just deal with it, because that is what I was supposed to do. Now, I am not afraid to speak up or act if I need a change.

Small example: On Friday, Danny and I went out to dinner to celebrate. It was a bit of a rainy afternoon, so, although I wanted to sit outside, we opted for an indoor table since the patio was still pretty wet. We got our table in the second level, and it was freezing. Not comfortable at all. Plus, the atmosphere was weird.

Not so long ago, I would have dealt with it and probably got pretty annoyed and cranky. Instead, we pretty much immediately decided to leave and check out the patio to see if we could deal with the water. It ended up being perfect!

I have more clarity.

This one is kind of hard to explain, but I feel like I am waaaay better at clearing my mind because of yoga. I will say that meditation is still quite the challenge for me, but I am getting there.

I am really able to clear my mind while I am practicing, which is a great feeling. I do notice this feeling stretching into my daily life as well, which is so refreshing. I am the kind of girl whose mind can be swarmed with thoughts to the point that it makes me want to freak out, but I have really been able to quiet many of those things, due to yoga and some practice.