Many people are still under the presences that a yoga practice will only yield flexibility results, this is not true, and I can tell you a story that happened to me on Friday to prove that yoga practice builds internal core strength…..
I ride around in a scooter, ie: electric motorcycle, weighing close to 600 pounds. It’s a monster, and goes fast as well. It hauls me around, plus often my husband and Ollie, our dog….The other day, close to home, it decided to die. After many failed attempts to restart it, we (my husband was with me) decided just to walk it home. We were only about a mile from home, a very doable distance. But within that mile, was a pretty big hill up into the neighborhood. Pushing, swearing, praying, cursing, grunting was just a few of the things coming out of me. I managed about 10 feet of gains, before collapsing on the bike, out of breath, sweat running down my helmet, on this cool day. We thought at the bottom of the hill, we could take turns, as it was difficult for both of us to find holds to push with. My husband is pretty strong, and I consider him an athlete, with many marathons behind his belt, but he couldn’t push that bike up an inch. He pushed, faced grunting, but didn’t get anywhere. Yoga practice builds internal resilience, and deep core strength.
Upon reflection, the yoga I do hauls my own body around in space, and usually, once a week I focus on core strength. Planking, reverse back lifts, leg lifts, oblique work etc. Other than regular yoga I do not lift any weights, but I think the real benefit of yoga truly lies in the resilience it yields. I’m talking about the can of whop as?! that sometimes you have to pull out to get something done. Opening a business, training for an event, the birth of a child, going back to school, or caring for an elderly parent all require energy or yogi’s like to say, “prana”. This practice builds energy, so whatever task is at hand, you can accomplish it. Yoga also allows grace to flow, and your negative thoughts to become positive, so you BELIEVE you can, and therefore you do.
Next time you have to climb that mountain in your life, either physically, or mentally, yoga practice will help you overcome the challenges that are surely going to be put in your path, and most of the time, with a SMILE on your face. It took me over 3 hours to push that bike up the hill, and probably the last ½ mile was flat, maybe 10-15 minutes. I’m positive that I couldn’t have done it before being a yogi.
See you on the mat this week!
Paula
