5 good reasons to start yoga
For many, getting into sport means “something painful”. Because yes, when it’s not a habit, the gym can be scary and it seems daunting on top of that. So where to start? A good solution for both girls and boys is yoga. Contrary to what many people think, yoga is not a time spent sleeping on the floor listening to your breathing. Or maybe you came across some very bad courses. But then what is it? Wikipedia tells us “The Western practice of haṭha yoga is a search for the unity of all the physical and psychological modalities that make up the human being” And it doesn’t seem like that, but it means “1 hour from time to time when you will struggle and feel all the muscles of your body, when you had forgotten the existence of half of them”.
So here are 5 good reasons to start yoga next week.
1. You just think about yourself for an hour.
It’s not every day you get the opportunity to just focus on your little person. Because work, because college, because work, because the lifestyle we lead leaves little room for absolute relaxation. A yoga class is an opportunity for 1 hour to leave your problems at the door, and to listen to yourself breathe. Because yes, we start by listening to ourselves breathe, and it’s not something we do often, it doesn’t seem like much.
2. We learn to stand up straight and breathe properly again.
We spend our days, more and more, huddled up on our computers, and I am the first to do it. The arched back, twisted wrists, head down. Everything you need to get used to bad posture, which is harmful in the long run and leads to more serious problems with age. Also, we have lost the habit of breathing “completely”, of using 100% of our respiratory capacity, and as a result, the body gets used to living with less oxygen with each breath, which is of course not a good thing. Learning to behave well again, and to breathe properly, it feels great.
3. We strengthen our muscles and become more flexible.
It is not a high calorie consuming activity, because the movements are slow and it is more toning than weight training. But it’s an excellent way to tighten a soft stomach, a low buttock, lazy arms. As we progress, we become more resistant, more flexible, the movements hurt less and become more precise. We really feel like we’re making progress, and we can increase the difficulty.
4. No session is like the previous one, you never get bored.
The series of movements are very numerous and varied, and change with each class. Some are great classics, others are much more surprising, and relearning to make the pear tree is always a challenge.
5. We come out of there empty-headed. Completely empty.
Because hyper-oxygenation, coupled with effort, coupled with the relaxation session at the end… it puts you on for a whole day. Forget the idea of doing a workout afterwards, if the yoga class was good, you won’t be able to do it. It’s time to go home and settle down with tea or breakfast, and enjoy a little bit. Because you feel really good.
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