How I Found Yoga

As this is the first post for my new monthly yoga postings, I thought I would tell you how I began practicing yoga. It definitely has been quite the journey. I remember the first time I heard of yoga was when I was in the seventh grade when a girl in my class began doing Downward Facing Dog pose on the playground. I was mystified by what she was doing. She had just moved from California so she was a lot hipper than I was. With some hesitation, I followed her lead and did my first Downward Facing Dog. I was overwhelmed by the strange new feeling of an inversion with the blood flow moving more rapidly towards my head and arms. Needless to say, it wasn’t the best feeling to get used to. I never grew up doing gymnastics so I wasn’t familiar with the feeling of inverting my body.

It wasn’t until ten years later that I would be introduced to yoga once again. I was in the midst of law school and pretty stressed out of my mind with all of my studies. A classmate suggested I go with her to a yoga class to help calm our anxieties about upcoming finals. It was a Vinyasa class and I really had no idea how to follow the sequence so the class wasn’t that relaxing for me. Once again, I wasn’t sure if this would ever be a practice I would regularly do.

It wasn’t until about nine years later that I actually began to consistently practice yoga and truly reap of all of its benefits. By then, I was a practicing attorney and was seeking an outlet to offload some professional and personal stresses I was going through. I drove by a local yoga studio after work one day and I decided, what the heck…the third time is a charm…I will try this out again. I’m so glad I did. I was greeted with such a calm energy when I walked into the studio; an energy that was welcoming and one I really needed at that time. I soon began regularly practicing Hatha asanas and occasionally Vinyasa. Mainly, the stretching and the meditative aspects of yoga I found to be so beneficial. About two years later, I decided that I wanted to become a certified yoga instructor so I could share with others this wonderful practice that has helped me mentally and physically in so many ways.

Since becoming certified to teach yoga in 2016, I’ve taught a variety of yoga styles, but my favorites have to be Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga. So I will be writing a lot about these styles of practice and the benefits they can have on your mental and physical bodies, including the skin.

Thank you for your interest in these posts. I will do my best to keep them informational and interesting to read. Mainly, I hope they inspire you to begin the practice of yoga so you can reap its amazing benefits.