Intimidation, laziness, lack of time and a lack of understanding of yoga’s benefits often keep non-yogis from entering the studio. But a closer examination of these qualities will reveal that they don’t only affect you with respect to yoga but they most likely also affect more familiar areas of your life. Ever been afraid to start something new? Why? Is it fear of being judged? Ever skipped out on going for that walk, run or swim that you’ve been intending to use to jumpstart your fitness routine? These qualities become so intuitive that we perceive to be our identity; they become our samskaras. It is possible to peel away those mental and physical layers of ourselves that we aren’t so content with.

When I first started practicing yoga I approached my practice with the sole intention of mastering those crazy poses you see in magazines because I thought that’s what yoga is all about. The more I practiced physically, the more my practice evolved in an energetic and spiritual way. The more I mastered the physical aspect of yoga, the less concerned with it I became. Yes, I did master many of the advanced asanas, but it suddenly wasn’t so important to me anymore. It was something deeper and much more personal than that. My yoga practice is a channel through which I am able to establish a genuine relationship with myself. When I am dancing or writing or going about other daily activities I lose sight of me, myself and my intentions because I perform these activities for the sake of something or someone else. Yoga is a pallet cleanser. After a long hard day yoga can make me feel better and forget my day. In the morning when I often awake I feel sore and stiff, but after 20 minutes on my mat, I feel energized and physically malleable. Yoga is whatever you want it to be whenever you want it. Yoga, like an old friend, is a practice that’s always there for you when you need. Simply taking a moment to close your eyes and count your breath is an act of yoga.

When yoga becomes a daily part of your life and not necessarily just the physical aspect, you begin radiating the fulfillment you experience out into the world. Others will notice and you will have the desire on your own accord to go out into the world and share the gift of yoga with as many people as you can…and thus the circle of yoga continues.