Guest Who’s Come to Post: Finding Your Love Affair With Yoga

Hi babes! When I tell you it’s been a crazy couple of weeks, it’s been a CRAZY couple of weeks! I’ve been travelling  AND we’ve been hosting back to back retreats at Retreat Ranch. I love my job, dare I say, I’ve got a real love affair with yoga *wink*. But… I’m really looking forward to Thanksgiving with the fam next week. As the sign in our Dining Hall at the Ranch says,

” Gathered around the table, stories are told, memories are created and love is abundantly grown.”

Those are truly the moments in life that make being alive worth it. Anywho, this week, my amazing friend and awesome yoga teacher training partner, Kim Demoss (@kimmiyogini) is taking the lead on this week’s blog. She too is all caught up in her love for yoga and she wants you to find your own love affair with yoga. So Kimmi, here’s the reigns, let’s get to chatting!

Namaste! It’s always a pleasure to collaborate with Shannon and the MindBodyComplete team! Today, I wanted us to chat a little about how you can build a more loving relationship with yoga. I wrote a post about it a while back on my blog, but I wanted to share the message here with you too! There are four key things to remember when building your relationship with the practice:

• Finding a class that fits
• Letting go of expectations
• Respecting yourself first
• Always remembering your goals

Finding a class that fits will help set the foundation to fall in love with yoga

You can approach yoga in a hundred different ways. Though it can seem a little overwhelming at times, it’s always good to take the time to explore different styles. I know this is something Shannon frequently repeats :). The thing is each teacher has their own teaching approach, so I always recommend testing the waters by trying different yoga classes and various teachers. You’ll be surprised to find what you end up loving on.

I’ve heard way too many times to count from students who previously tried one class, didn’t enjoy the experience and decided not to go back, at all. I truly think that perhaps that type of yoga or teacher just wasn’t the right person to nourish their souls. Like all things in life, we may not get lucky the first time, but it doesn’t mean the journey should stop there. 

Be willing to experience different styles and teachings to find your favorite. A restorative class, a vigorous energetic class, or a slow flow class can all be great options depending on how your body is feeling that specific day. Don’t let one experience a few years ago hold you back from finding your inner peace with a yoga class that makes both your mind and body feel marvellous.

Letting go of expectations will deepen your love affair with yoga

When you come to the mat to practice yoga, your goal should be on strengthening the connection with your own body and mind. The thing is that life is not linear, so there will be days when we’re worn down by life’s baggage, we feel sick or we’re just not in the right headspace to land that lotus flower pose. Guess what? That’s totally OK! Here are some helpful tips to get through these periods:

1. Don’t worry about how you look or who is next to you. You’re there to connect better with yourself, everything else is just a distraction.
2. Yoga is simply a practice, no one is ever going to be perfect, the ebb and flow of your rhythm and thoughts is completely normal, so embrace it!

If nothing else, take this thought away with you today:

Letting go of expectations is often times one of the harder parts of a yoga practice, but I can promise you, if you settle the mental chatter within, you will get much more out of your experience!

I’d like to use an extract from my blog about why it’s so necessary to respect yourself first and foremost.

“In keeping with the age old traditions of the 8 limb path to yoga, respecting and honoring yourself is of primacy. Making sure you’re safe in your yoga practice is and always should be the number one priority of instructors. But only you know your body. So make sure that you are respecting your body’s limitations at all times. If you can’t get into a pose today, accept that and choose a modification and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. There are a vast variety of ways to get the same benefits from a pose in a different way.

Anatomically speaking, every single body is different and every day brings a different challenge so there is no point in trying to perfect a posture when your body says no. Don’t lose sight of why you are doing yoga in the first place, creating that space for your mind and body to connect is of utmost importance. Finding strength and balance can be difficult at first, but you are ultimately in control of your practice and your instructor is only there to guide you on your path.”

Always remembering your goals