Yoga Day 30 | Lessons Learned on my Yoga Mat

I’m glad these 30 Days of Yoga found me. I’m glad I was able to stop, take the time to shift focus, and do yoga (most) every day this month. While there were a couple of days that I didn’t step on my mat and didn’t even really think toward my practice, I know that what I’ve learned, and what I am carrying with me has made a difference. Yoga has made me more flexible both in body and mind, and that is invaluable.

Here are some of the my lessons learned.

Yes, yoga starts on your mat, but the benefits are life-wide. Through movement, I’ve found my breath again. And drawing from my breath I’ve found strength in body and mind. The process is circular, you see. And I like that feeling of benefiting my entire body, while I support a part of it.
It doesn’t matter that I can’t get into handstand or wheel. It doesn’t matter that my half-moon isn’t the most graceful and usually requires a blog. Because I can’t loose. I can only win in yoga. That is a soft cushion to land in.
I don’t have to practice in a studio with a teacher. This lesson feels monumental because it eliminates the excuses and it makes it possible for me to take yoga with me, carry it anywhere, and us it right when I need it. Yoga is accessible, available, and there for me when I need it.
There’s more to yoga and just stretching your body and breathing deep. I’ve found love, compassion, strength, and space for myself on my yoga mat. These things aren’t just ideals. They’re not the sorts of principles that I would like to have. These are things that I need in my life. And yoga delivers.
I can yoga in my own way. This might be the most important lesson of them all. I don’t have to fit into the stereotyped rail-think yogi body. I don’t have to practice in a studio and ohm my way through. I don’t have to do side plank with the same straight lines. In yoga, modifications are okay. My brightly patterend yoga mat is okay. The Anna way of doing yoga is awesome. And I like that.