My Yoga Journey

I never thought I would like yoga. My mom tried to get me to do yoga with her before, but I never really liked it since she made yoga feel like it was only for adults. But then, I found this youtube channel called Yoga with Adriene that changed my perspective on yoga. I immediately fell in love with Yoga with Adriene when I tried it for the first time. Not only is Adriene a great yoga instructor who knows just the right ways to encourage you, but she also calls her audience kind names such as “dear one.” She helped me understand that yoga is for everyone at all ages and that yoga is a deliberate combination between breathing and stretching.

What is Yoga?

Yoga is usually defined as a mental, physical, and spiritual practice that consists of meditation, breathing, and bodily stretching to help a person’s well-being. For me, yoga is all of that and more. Yoga connects me to my inner self which sounds corny, but it’s true. When I do yoga, I feel so relaxed and so connected to my body that I am able to connect with myself and solidify my thinking. I think yoga truly helps with well-being. I am so relaxed mentally when I do yoga that my mind feels like mush, in a good way. I can focus a lot better afterward, and physically, I am a lot more fit after doing yoga.

My Journey

The first day I started yoga, I was so excited since I was committing to a 30-day yoga journey with Adriene. The first two weeks, I could really tell the difference yoga was making on me. My body felt so relaxed after yoga that I could feel a weight lifted from my body. Yoga helped me slow down and notice the small things inside myself that I may not have noticed before. Then, I took a two-day break and I hated it. I felt so stressed and unfocused those days. When I came back to yoga, I let out a sigh of relief that I was doing yoga again. The next week I put myself twice as much into yoga and though I didn’t feel the same physical effects of yoga that the first week made me feel since I had gotten used to the effects, I still felt the mental results. Yoga helped me calm down so much and release the stress I felt from school. Now I’m on my last week of yoga, and I’m sad that my journey is going to end, but I know I’m definitely going to start another 30-day yoga journey with Adriene. Her kind words throughout my journey and constant support helped me stay with it.

The Effects that My Parents Noticed

I know I noticed a lot of effects of yoga in myself, but my parents found some I would never have thought of. I normally slump my shoulders because I am so tired and have low confidence in myself. My parents have to constantly remind me to keep my back straight. However, my parents told me a few days ago that they noticed my back was a lot straighter and that I walked with more confidence in myself. I was astonished; I never thought that yoga would actually help me overcome my back slump problem and gain confidence. So I tried to check if my parents were right. Sometimes while I was walking, I stopped to see if my back was straighter, and it was! I’m amazed at how much yoga changed me.

So, I hope I also convinced you to do yoga. It is amazing and feels so good after you do it. I know I took you along on my yoga journey, but I hope you set off on your own, especially with Yoga with Adriene. Well, I’ll catch you later, I’m off to do yoga!

Neha Sunkara ’21, Food and Wellness Editor 

21nsunkara@montroseschool.org