Last summer when I was on vacation, I decided to start a new thing. Something that would keep my mind busy, when I don’t want to think about my studies, at the same time, helping me to relax when I am worried. I needed something that would increase the quality of my life, but I should admit, I’ve never imagined that it would change my life this much.

I wanted to write about this for a long time but first I needed to figure out what exactly happened to me and I gained a new perspective about my life.

I will start from the beginning.

We all know the new sport trend. It is YOGA. Nowadays everybody is talking about it. You see it in the movies or on tv. Even some football players are doing yoga to keep their shape, to relax, to be more flexible, and more balanced. So it is impossible not to be curious about, right? As I was trying to have a healthy life by regularly going to gym and eating carefully, I decided to add this new sport trend in my training program. When I first started, I wasn’t seeing yoga as meditation to my mind and to my body but just a new type of exercise to make me have a strong and fit body. Let’s be honest, we love fitness but isn’t that weight lifting sometimes boring? Don’t we sometimes wonder, “what is the point of running if you are still at the very same spot”?

According to the my aim, Vinyasa (Flow) Yoga was the best option for me, as it is in high tempo. It is a kind of a dance with the breath and the posture, therefore every posture is in a flow etc. etc. Fortunately, my husband’s cousin recommended a yoga studio (Never do a yoga lesson in the gym, try to find a studio where everybody comes with the same idea: “it is about exploring yourself”). The first lesson on the mat was so shockingly difficult and I realized that I’d never sweated that much in my whole life. At some point, the mat became so slippery because of my sweat, that I’d nearly flipped on the mat. At the end of the lesson I was very happy that I have found my yoga style. This will make me lose calories like the way I lose in the gym. Yeay!!!

The first 2-3 lessons, I’d hardly listened to the meditative monologs by the instructors and mostly focused on my own thoughts and inner voice. However, a realization moment has come. If I didn’t focus on my breath and listen to my body, I could not go further into the postures, and there will be no improvement on my body or in my mind. This realization became with the instructors, of course. They really helped me to see yoga as a way of spending time with yourself; the importance of presence as a time and as a being. I needed to focus on breath and to leave everything behind, while, becoming aware of everything also. Then my view started to change. Now, when I am on my mat, I leave every worry, every thought behind me, and try to really live the moment with myself.

• How many hours do you spend time with yourself and focus on yourself to discover your edges or your capabilities?

• How many times do you do something for yourself and for your body? Not to look beautiful for others but to yourself (especially to your inner self).

• How many times do you live in the moment and not think about the future or the past?

• How many times do you sit and ponder about the importance of breathe? Do some breathing exercises open your mind? (if you do breathing exercises, you pump more oxygen to your heart, and to your brain, which will clear your mind, ease your stress, and allows you to think more rationally.)

Even these few questions can (hopefully) change your view about life, and if you go deeper, you will realize how precious our time is. You will realize how much time you spend on worrying, stressing, and calculating. Instead, be still, breathe, and focus on the things that are important right here and now.

A happy soul will give more happiness and love to others than a stressful, worried, and sad soul. Start to do yoga…Today!

my take on yoga