Personally, if one good thing has come from 2020, it has been the decision to start practicing yoga. Eight months ago, if I bent down to touch my toes, I could barely reach my shins. A shooting pain would travel through my low back and into my legs. I would then proceed to complain that I would just never be flexible and that stretching just “wasn’t for me”.
I have always loved physical activity and exercise, but yoga was never my thing. I always preferred running or strength exercises to posing on a mat. Frankly, I just found stretching and staying in one spot for an extended period of time to be simply boring.
But, when quarantine began in March, I found myself stuck inside with an unfamiliar amount of time on my hands. Every day felt the same– I was desperate for some sort of morning routine to keep the hours from blending into one another. Reluctantly, I decided to try yoga.
I started by just following a 10-minute practice every morning. Honestly, the first couple of days were not enjoyable. 10 minutes felt like an hour and I could barely do any of the moves. As miserable as it was, I was determined to keep trying. After about a week, 10 minutes started to feel just a little bit easier. Slowly but surely, I began to notice a difference in my flexibility. I was able to do more of the moves, but the best part had to be the way I would feel afterwards.
Starting the day with just ten minutes of yoga made my body and mind feel so good. It was so beneficial for me to wake up and have ten minutes to myself before doing anything else. After three weeks, I started doing 15 minutes a day, then 20, and then slowly worked my way up to 30 minutes of practice per day.
I couldn’t believe how good I felt, not only physically, but mentally. After two months, I was able to touch my toes, something that I haven’t been able to do in years. If I missed a day, my body would feel tight and I noticed that I would be much less productive.
It has been eight months since I started practicing yoga and it has seriously changed the way I feel physically and mentally. I no longer practice every single day, but I now complete 45-minute sessions four times a week. It is the perfect start to any day and I cannot recommend it enough.