What Doing A Month of Yoga Taught Me

Hello lovelies!

While I am not new to the blogging world ( I have a beauty and make up blog), I am new to creating something that is deeper in content. I love beauty, health and wellness, fitness and everything in between. But I have always wanted a lifestyle blog, where I share things that I find interesting. So here I am, sharing on an experience that I thought was very helpful for me.

As a fitness enthusiast, I have always pushed myself to work extremely hard. I was and still am in love with HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), but I noticed that while I was gaining muscle mass, I wasn't really feeling the best about myself. My body felt much tighter than normal and my flexibility was very limited. Sometime in February, I decided that throughout the month of March, I would do yoga everyday.

It seemed daunting at first. Would my muscles still develop? Would I gain weight during this month? With these questions zooming through my brain, I allowed myself to do 15 minute workouts on top of my yoga routines. I did this mainly so that I would still be working on the muscle groups that I thought were important and also so that I'd still be progressing.

With that premise I began my month. Not expecting too much, but looking forward to gaining flexibility. However, I learned a lot more than I thought I was going to, which is the entire point of this post. So without further a do, here are a few things that doing a month of yoga taught me.

1. Patience

I always used to just power through my workout, trying to get through it as fast as possible. I never wanted to be working out for too long, and at the beginning of the month, it was insane to think about doing even a 30 minute yoga video. Through this month, I learned to have patience with my body, how to allow myself to linger and enjoy every moment that I was working. It gave me a deeper sense of patience with things that would sometimes irritate me.

2. Letting Go

After a long and stressful day, I would often keep all those emotions bottled up and it would just fester in my mind. It's so unhealthy to carry the previous days stress around with you and it can really weigh down your whole mood. I learned through this month to let go of that stress and anxiety for at least half an hour every day. It's so nice to just let go of things that are hurting you mentally.

3. Resting Is Okay

I swore that even if I took a one day break from working out that it would set me back. Even doing a stretching routine wouldn't be enough because it didn't push me to the point were my muscles were exhausted. This past month, I really learned the beauty of allowing myself to rest and rejuvenate. Although I found some yoga routines that really made me sweat, it still didn't make me feel stressed.

4. Working Out Doesn't Have to Be a Chore

I honestly never felt during this month, drained or annoyed that I had to get a workout in. I went into every routine excited to try something new and looking forward to seeing how my body felt afterwards. Nothing about it felt forced or strained, it was just something I wanted to do.

5. Just Breath

There is something so good about just allowing yourself to take a moment and breath. One of my favorite poses in yoga is savasana, which is the final pose and the end of every yoga routine. Basically, you're letting go and simply pressing every limb into the ground and breathing. Taking the time to just focus on your breath and letting go of the day's stress is so beneficial. I found that I felt so much better at the end of every routine, because I  spent a moment reflecting and allowing myself to just breath.

6. Yoga is a Workout

I learned that yoga, while not often thought of as a workout, is so beneficial for strengthening your whole body. There are so many exercises where you use your core strength to twist or to bring your body into a certain pose, which builds so much strength in your abdominal muscles; Going through  chaturanga builds up so much arm strength and tones up that whole flabby underarm area, which is a problem area for so many women; Leg strength is also increased as you spend so many moves in a lunge or squat. My idea that this month wouldn't tone up my body, was completely false.

7. Setting Intentions

When you start a routine, you are often asked to set an intention for your practice. Whether that is just simply allowing yourself to be present or that you're going to really commit to the practice, you set that goal. I've found that while setting an intention on the mat is extremely helpful, setting intentions in everyday life is also amazing. Throughout the week, I tell myself that today will be a good day, I pray for patience and grace for people and I find that it really helps to change my perspective on the day.

This past month of yoga was so good for me that I'm doing it again! This time around I'm increasing my normal workout time and finishing off with a good yoga routine. I really encourage everyone to try out yoga as it is so good for your body. You'll feel so good after a routine, even if you only practice a couple times a week. If you are interested in doing a month of yoga, I recommend making a schedule for yourself to stay on track and choosing the practice before the day of, so that you always know what your doing for the day.

That's all I have for today. Thank you for reading and allowing me to share some of my thoughts with you. Have an amazing day and hopefully I'll have more to share soon!

Grace

This is from my new blog on wordpress. Check it out at gracesmusingsblog.wordpress.com