Over the course of the last few weeks I’ve been in a small rut with a mixture of boredom and just plain laziness. On top of that, my job was making it so my mid-twenties body felt as though I was in the body of an eighty year old woman and struggling to do daily tasks because the back pain was substantial. So, I decided the best option was to find a hobby that not only made me feel efficient, but physically better as well. And that’s when I discovered the art of yoga.
As someone who never exercises regularly, I wasn’t too familiar with the practice of yoga and the mindfulness behind it. So in order to grasp a better understanding of the practice, I of course turned to the internet for help and understanding. First stop was YouTube, with the simple keywords “yoga for beginners” in the search bar I was introduced to a whole new community of instructors and people just like me.
Of course with marketing being one of the main uses of the internet I was thrown a few ads for online yoga classes with weekly virtual meetings but just under those opportunistic ads were a slew of videos to choose from. I went with this video to begin, “10 Minute Morning Yoga for Beginners” by the YouTube user, SarahBethYoga. Although there are plenty of other users on the platform who introduce yoga in different ways, I personally felt Sarah Beth was best for me since her routines were simple and need based instead of intricate and difficult for me and my body . I also connected to her personality a bit better than the other users on the platform, so if you find that SarahBethYoga isn’t the best option for you, then that’s totally okay! This is a personal journey for you and you only, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t find an instructor to vibe with automatically.
The video was extremely insightful and easy for me to do as an actual beginner in the yoga world and I even recommended it to a few of my close friends who I feel would benefit from these exercises as well. While I watched the video, I played Mindful Meditation music in the background and lit a few sticks of incense to get the ultimate calming atmosphere. When I was finished, I made sure to drink a lot of water and eat a healthy meal to start my day!
I can easily say that the exercise made me feel lighter and more accomplished, having done exercise and had time to be alone with my own thoughts, which we barely ever have time for anyway. As for continuing the practice, I will definitely be keeping up with my yoga exercises in the near future whenever I feel the need to decompress and I might even join a few virtual classes in the meantime!