Yoga is for Everyone

I cannot believe I am only two weeks away from completing my 200-hour yoga teacher training! Back track to March last year when I started practicing yoga, I never would have thought of pursuing a course like this, attempting to teach or even deepening my practice. How could I? My hips were too tight, I could not even do a half lotus and overall, I just was not that flexible.

But a lot of things changed since then.

I am grateful for all the teachers I’ve had who would always remind us, students, that it is not about how perfect you look in poses, but it is the intention and awareness you bring into each asana that matters. You could be the stiffest of stiffs, the most inflexible of inflexibles, and still be able to do fulfilling asanas with your genuine intention, and pure awareness of your alignment and breathing.

So I continued to expose myself to different classes in Singapore and sometimes would go to Koh Samui or Bali to attend yoga retreats. Appreciating all the goodness, calmness and positive energy I started experiencing in my life through my yoga practice, I decided to give teacher training a shot because I would like to give back and help others experience what I have been experiencing.

Now, you may ask, how is my practice now that I am almost done with the course? Well, I am learning a load of things I cannot wait to share with others! As for my asana – well, my hips are still tight, though, very slowly, I can feel them opening. I still could not do a full lotus but I could do half and a whole lot of different asanas I never thought I could ever do like headstands and arm balances. My asanas may not look as perfect as what you would see in books, video clips or as done by yoga teachers, but it is okay – because it is a continuous practice, and with each practice, I feel stronger, more centered, happier.

Besides, asana is just one out of eight limbs of yoga. And all these limbs welcome anybody – regardless of flexibility, body type, health condition, age, race, or gender – who would like to take that journey towards a union of mind, body and soul. So yoga is indeed for everyone and it can only bring positive things in your life like good health, strength, stamina, calmness and a liberating awareness of the present.

Cheers πŸ˜‰

Β© Karen Cornejo primakarenrambles.wordpress.com, May 2014