What I learnt in 5 years of yoga
In September I reached an important milestone: practising yoga for 5 years. That gave me good motivation to launch my own website and start with this first blog post.
Throughout my entire life, I've never been so consistent in something for so long. So to commemorate the fifth anniversary of my personal yoga journey, I thought it would be appropriate to trace back my first steps into this practice and recollect some of the most valuable lessons yoga has taught me.
At the end of 2016, I started practising yoga on a regular basis. However, that wasn't the first time I encountered yoga. I remember trying it for the first time during high school. Though sceptical at the time, it immediately resonated with me. Those moments during my adolescence, it brought me tranquillity and stillness. Something I was lacking and that I was in need of, but unaware of such a condition, I felt uncomfortable with it. Unable to go beyond this resistance, I didn't persist in pursuing such practice and met it again in 2016.
This time I picked up yoga out of an egotistical whim. I used to do gymnastics when I was a child and as I realised I wasn't able to touch my toes anymore, I decided to start yoga to become flexible again.
My practice over the years has changed a lot: from practising hardcore 1-2 hours per day every day, trying out all sorts of poses, reluctantly practising meditation or pranayama, to slow-paced practices like yin yoga once or twice per week, focussing a lot on self-inquiry and breath control.
But what does not change? Change is the only constant in life.
It is said that progress is impossible without change. Yoga is a life-long journey and a long-lasting and more sustainable practice that observes the current needs of body and mind together.
In these 5 years of practice, yoga has taught me 5 valuable lessons that I'd like to recap in the following:
Acceptance. Our practice - as well as our body - changes as we progress in life. Never the same, every day is different. Learn to embrace this aspect and accept the way it is.
A little goes a long way. Start little by little, step by step, and focus on what you can do. Yoga is a life-long practice that will accompany you. There is no need to rush.
Consistency is key. Whether it is 2 times per week or every day. Find your own formula to make it a routine. It takes courage to show up on the mat regularly, but believe me - it's worth it.
Everyone's journey is unique. It's easy to get distracted by someone else's flexibility and strength. We tend to forget it, but we all start from somewhere. So try not to compare your journey with someone else's.
Focus on the process, not the destination. It surely gives a feeling of satisfaction once we achieve a difficult pose. But it shouldn't be the end goal. There is so much more than that. Learn to focus on the process and to enjoy it.
Yoga has been like an anchor for me in these past 5 years.
It kept me grounded. It helped me explore my physical, emotional and mental limitations. But above all, it keeps reminding me of the beauty of living.
Of showing up for yourself. To practice and to live with presence, loving-kindness, curiosity, and joy.