I took my first hot yoga class in 2011 and I absolutely hated it. I didn’t understand how anyone could willingly torture themselves by visiting what I considered to be the depths of hell. I’m not sure if it was the teacher or hell itself, but I never went back… until 2 years later to a different studio. I can’t remember what brought me to giving it a second chance, but I did. I think I had actually purchased a Groupon and it was expiring (I love me a bargain, hehe). I went to Yoga Six and I. WAS. HOOKED. Aside from melting my face off and producing little buckets of sweat (I’m not typically a sweat-er), I finally realized what Yoga was all about— Checking out everyone else in minimal clothing, in an intimate setting, sweating and wondering if McDreamy next to you is also checking you out. KIDDING. But that thought has obviously crossed everyone’s mind… right…?

What Yoga Taught Me:

- Body Awareness

- Mental Awareness

- Being Yoga Stoned Is A thing

- Nutrition

- My Mind And Body Are Sacred AF

Body Awareness

I have a Pars Defect. In short, it is a stress fracture in my lower spine. Yes, it hurts like hell everyday but I have learned to manage the pain through various things, one of them being yoga. Yoga encouraged me to explore my body’s limits and gifts. My personal limit was of course, my lower back pain. Yoga allowed me to patiently explore this ‘limit’. I learned how breathing can release stress you’re holding in certain areas of your body and how it can bring you deeper into a pose. It has made me express gratitude for my health and realize what a privilege is it to wake into a body that can move in such ways.

Mental Awareness

This is probably the most challenging aspect of yoga, especially in the beginning. You continue to ask yourself, “Am I doing this right?” “How TF can she bend like that?” YES, your mind wanders and your inner critic will usually make you feel bad for it. Once I realized this was truly my practice, that I had taken one hour out of my day to dedicate solely to exploring my mind and body, I became a student of myself. I let thoughts come and go without entertaining them, I danced with my limits and played with my gifts. Something I consider to be a gift is my breathing. Some breathing techniques allow me to go deeper into a pose or bring awareness back into my body instead of trying to tame the thoughts in my mind. When the awareness is brought into the body, for a second, thoughts become radio silence and it's a beautiful thing.

Being Yoga Stoned Is A Thing

I remember a few times after a class I would just sit in the lounge, definitely overstaying my welcome. But I couldn’t move. Mentally, I was as light as a feather. Physically, I was glued to whatever surface I managed to prop myself upon. I would just sit there, chillin’, smilin’, not really carin’. At times I would try to understand why I was still sitting on this dang couch but I would revert to chillin’, smilin’ and not carin’. After about 10 minutes of this dgafing-bliss, I managed to slip my sandals on and continue about my day. At times I would walk up out of there chillin’, smilin’ not really carin’ only to realize that I had forgotten my keys in the studio. I would go back, find my keys and stroll back to the car, again to realize that I had forgotten my mat. I’d find my beautiful pistachio-colored mat and make my way back to my car to lmao and realize I left my super-trendy, super-expensive glass water bottle. Being Yoga stoned is a thing, a wonderful, laughable thing. I hope everyone gets to experience it at some point. ☺️

Nutrition

This is probably the second biggest thing I have learned from my practice. Many people may not know this but I have lost close to 40lbs… I’ll give you a few seconds to let that sink in/ scroll through my Insta 🤣😅. I can genuinely say that yoga aided tremendously. It gave me the essential foundation to begin listening to my body’s needs, one being, eating healthier. Simply put, you don’t want to eat a Cali burrito before a hot yoga class. The more I practiced yoga, I was craving less sugary/ greasy foods because I knew how I would feel during/after a class if I were to eat poorly. Hopefully you can imagine what eating a Cali burrito right before a hot yoga class would feel like— yes, upchucking. OH AND!— It forced me to drink more water 🤗, which helped with my completion, fatigue and cravings. At one point, I was practicing twice a day, and if not, I was going once a day, every week. So you can imagine my eating habits changed dramatically.

My Mind and Body Are Sacred AF

I view my practice as a safe-space. Every time I step on my mat, I feel an essence of calm and quietness. Regardless of what makes me show up, whether it be a sweet or bitter day, I promise myself and my time to leave all judgement off the mat. Yoga gave me a restart button. It allowed me to change my thought patterns which induced far more awareness into my mind and body than I ever thought possible. It’s incredible how you evolve when you slow down, listen and do by your mind and body. You begin to sync into something familiar but yet so foreign. It’s coming home to your true-self but forgetting what that looks and feels like. So you continue to take time, explore, challenge and evolve through self care in hopes of meeting your true-self. I hope you are able to find something that awakens you and ignites your self exploration. If this means nothing to you, please take a yoga class or a walk through nature. The easiest way to connect to your core, in my opinion, is through silence.

Stephanie Daily