Yoga & Breath

April 16th, 2006


This month, I am choosing to share some of my thoughts on how yoga has made an impact on my life. I happen to credit yoga with a lot of things. It’s not just about improving flexibility, or in my case, keeping me honest about stretching. If it wasn’t for yoga, I don’t think I’d be able to touch my toes, let alone keep up with my insane schedule.

I use yoga for stress relief and focus. It gives me a few hours a week to check in with myself and see how I’m really doing. You can lie to yourself all day long, but the minute you lie down in Savasana, the corpse pose, it all ends. Your mind runs a mile a minute and you think, breathe and slow down. Okay, if I can’t slow down, then just breathe a little bit more. As I focus a little more and a little more on my breath, I feel my body slowly giving way and sinking into the floor beneath me. I come more into myself and I see and feel more as I focus more and more on just the act of breathing. I can see where I limit myself and where I allow myself to be free. I can feel the tension draining from my body and almost feel the healing energy that I have allowed myself to create and then absorb.

As “New Age” as this may sound, I have seen and felt the effects that my yoga practice has had on my life. I feel more confident and self-aware. I am happier and more at peace with the world. I am more accepting of myself and others and of the world around me. Best of all, I am able to cultivate strength and flexibility in both my mind and my body.

And if that wasn’t enough of a reason, I sleep very well after my yoga practice and find that all of my daily activities are just easier and more enjoyable. How else would you explain a 5 minute drop in my fastest 10K time by training less and enjoying more? I take my “yoga breathing” and I run with it, literally.

Breathe and focus. Breathe and relax. Breathe and enjoy. Namaste.



(c) Annette Nack, Bee Balanced Health & Wellness

This article was first published on April 16th 2006