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Embrace and move forward towards health

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read this word?

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read this word? Maybe things like twisting your body into a pretzel, a boring exercise or ‘Om’ come to mind. These are some things I thought as well before I started practising 3 years ago. My journey started because of a request from my son to practise with him. We starting getting up early and did yoga for 20 minutes to an online video. I quickly fell in love within a month of practising, the pain I had been experiencing in my elbows for the past 6 months was completely gone. I continued to practise daily and went on to successfully completed a 225 hour instructor training. Within 6 months I was able to do the splits which at 42 years old was not something I ever imagined I would do.

The word Yoga means to yoke. To yoke together movement, breath and meditation or mindfulness. I was very excited about the physical benefits to yoga but what impacted me more was the journey. It is not about the poses, it is about listening to our bodies and becoming aware of what it is saying. Yoga is a discipline and another word for discipline is to nurture. To nurture yourself. Being aware of where our bodies are at, noticing without judgement, honour it, and giving it what it needs. Knowing when to pull back or to push forward. Recognizing that we all have a story, our bodies have a story, we are all in different spots in our journey, allowing competition and comparison to melt away, and celebrate the process our bodies are in.

You only have one body. My encouragement for you today is to honour it, recognize where you are at, embrace process and move forward towards health and wellness.

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