I am soooo stoked to announce that I’ve had an article published by the awesome health and wellness website, MindBodyGreen  (<— click there to read!).   Now, I know according to web traffic geniuses, SEO, and all that swirly interweb talk, I shouldn’t be posting an outside link on my own site, but what the hey!  Go read my article and share some love  there or pass it on if you like it! 🙂 …or heck, share some love here, too, please! haha. You might be surprised by what you read, so check check check it out 😉

 

Here’s the schtuff, though:


10 Reasons Why It’s Not Real Yoga Unless You Sweat

Psych! This is what I really think:

1. A yoga session does not have to be 90 minutes of Bikram to “count.”

2. A yoga session does not have to be one hour to “count”…or in a studio…or with other people. (Who’s counting anyway?) Sometimes the best yoga “session” only lasts 3 to 20 minutes.

3. Yoga is what you want it to be – an entire lifestyle, one hour a month, or something in between.

4. You don’t have to sweat during yoga. In fact, you don’t even have to move to be “doing” yoga. The postures are actually to prepare your body for meditation so you’re not squirming around the whole time while you’re sitting on your little pillow thinking, “What the eff is my left ankle doing on top of my right thigh?  That feels weird. Oh yeah, focus on my third eye.”

5. Ok, “but we like the asanas!” you say. Super, do those yoga poses. And sweating is ok, you just don’t have to sweat. Besides, even if you’re only in it for the physical benefit, me thinks you might stumble across some pretty cool emotional and spiritual stuff, too. I’ve heard more stories about this happening than I can count; thus, onto #6.

6. Even “meat-heads” can do yoga. Case in point: me. I used to be a Marine. My time in the Corps is when I went from doing yoga purely to gain flexibility to cross-train as a warrior-athlete, to doing it in Iraq in order to survive spiritually and mentally. I didn’t even have to try to make the switch. It just happened one day – on the mat.

7. If you’re breathing hard, you’re probably doing something wrong (unless by “breathing hard” you’re doing ujjayi or lion’s breath…go ahead, stick your tongue out). Other than that, no mouth-breathers allowed.

8. The student (that’s you) may inadvertently end up becoming the teacher. In fact, try teaching yourself through a practice some time and see what happens. It might just be the best yoga of your life yet. Even as a teacher myself, I get sucked into the comfort of a video or class too often when I know my biggest breakthroughs happen when I’m outdoors, by myself. (You don’t have to be Yoga Alliance certified to teach yourself, by the way. My boyfriend who has been doing yoga sporadically for about 6 months took himself through his own practice (no DVD, no teacher, no music) a few weeks ago and said it was one of the best experiences of his life.)

9. Did I mention that boys do yoga, too? In fact, way back in the day – that’s a Wednesday – women weren’t allowed to do yoga! Say what?! The dudes are usually the ones sweating the most, though.

10. Nobody owns yoga.

Bonus #11. Just Roll With It! ™ 🙂 Get on the mat and try. It’ll be ok; I promise. Laugh. Cry. Smile. Fart. Grumble. Fall over. You can always try again.

 

* PS A friend of mine just had her first post on MindBodyGreen, as well.  The theme is a little different but a great read and great message, and I’m on board with all of her suggestions.  Reminds me a bit of my own post from a month or so ago https://sempersarah.com/2012/06/take-yourself-on-a-dateand-roll-with-it/   But with more direction 🙂 So, check her stuff out too! 🙂 http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5834/25-Ways-to-Be-Alone-But-Not-Lonely.html