People often ask me how I got into yoga. The truth is I started practicing because I was desperate. I had a running injury and was desperate to move and do some exercise, but couldn’t do what I loved. I was getting really down about it all.
They say that as one door closes, another one opens and that’s what happened to me. My dad had given me a book on yoga and I started trying the postures by myself. I am a restless, slightly hyperactive person naturally and it was the ‘fix’ I needed.
Like many of us, I also used to think I couldn’t ‘do’ yoga because I wasn’t flexible enough and I didn’t feel very confident about joining a class. A lot of people mistakenly believe they cannot ‘do’ yoga because they are not slim, flexible or young enough. That’s all nonsense.
One of my yoga teachers always said that if you can breathe, you can do yoga. And in fact without the breath, you don’t get any of the calming benefits of yoga on the nervous system. It becomes no more than any other fitness class.
The reason I stuck with practicing yoga is because it makes me feel so good. And the reason I trained as a teacher, was because of a desire to share its very powerful effects with other people.
Yoga teaches us a lot. You learn to deepen your own connection with yourself and the skill of being able to relax very quickly, turning inwards and letting go of tension and stress at will. This is a very important life skill in today’s world.
It is a form of body weight training and makes you very strong, which is important for preserving bone density and range of movement.
It is also a fantastic way to become and stay physically and mentally fit. You can do it anywhere and it requires no real equipment beyond a mat.
So, if you have never tried yoga before, it’s never too late. Maybe you’ve got an injury and you can’t do your usual sports or exercise classes? Or maybe you are finding you get injured too regularly? They say that tight muscles are weak muscles. Is that happening to you?
Maybe you have a chronic health condition and want to learn yoga in a supportive environment? Or maybe you are dealing with a lot of stress at work and finding yourself reaching for alcohol to unwind of an evening? If that rings a bell perhaps it’s a time to try something else?
People often walk into my studio looking frazzled and they float out of the door an hour or so later. It’s amazing how that happens and it’s a fantastic gift to be able to share that and make a difference to someone’s sense of wellbeing.
Hope to see you soon at a practice.
best wishes
Lesley xx
PS - note that there are no classes running between 21st and 24th October. I will be in Ibiza, planning for the 2025 Autumn Yoga Retreat Holiday.
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