It’s often easy to start something new, the hard part is continuing and making it a part of daily life.
This has been my experience with yoga, I begin earnestly, only to find myself giving up after my body seemingly fails to contort into the uncomfortable poses.
It hurts, I cannot bend and it simply seems too hard. However after walking part of the Camino de Sanitago this year, I now know it is not the body that gives up, it’s the mind.
When faced with an extreme physical challenge, the mind likes to trick the body into believing the challenge cannot be conquered. At times whilst walking the Camino there was an overwhelming feeling to just give up for the physical exhaustion was so intense. But I didn’t give up, I placed focus on the path directly in front of me, and allowed myself to simply take one step at a time and focused on the Now.
I took time to rest and most importantly, took time to tell myself how much I’d achieved. It may not have been as much as another pilgrim, but that did not matter as it was my journey.
As the days progressed my body grew stronger and my mind began to accept this journey I had taken it on. The weight I carried no longer felt heavy, I felt exhilarated and at peace with myself.
People practiced yoga whilst on the Camino and I remember seeing a girl practice on a grassy patch high on the Pyrenees. I knew I wanted yoga to become part of my daily life and on returning home, I started doing some research.
As I preferred to practice at home, I began searching and trialling countless apps, yet many were full of meaningless chatter and hurried poses that were difficult to follow. Yet I was determined to find something and funnily enough, I came across Down Dog by chance after clicking on a link from an unrelated app.
It was easy to navigate, had various options of voice, music, style etc and most importantly, it was devoid of that endless chatter that seemed to accompany other apps.
So I began.
I am now into Day 4, which is 2 days further than I’ve been before and whilst I’m struggling , I’m listening to my body and letting it ease into the poses.
I don’t have expectations, and like my Camino, I am simply taking one step at a time and letting my body adjust to this new movement.
Note: I do not have any affiliation with Down Dog, it’s just an app I’ve found to work best for me.
stanley & bear 