8 reasons to start practicing yoga.

For 8 years I have been practicing yoga. My practice started just before yoga became a mainstream path for people all around the world. As a 10-year-old child I did not really understand all the meaning and philosophy that stands behind a weird name of a “sport” with even more weird “exercises" in it. However, it didn’t take a long time to like all its peculiarities.

Until the moment when I sat down to ponder upon my resolutions, I wasn’t that loyal to practicing yoga. I would practice in summer going to group classes and then forget about yoga for a year until next summer started. So this 8-year-practice was actually an 8-year-acquaintance. Although, I knew for sure I liked the practice very much, I didn’t spend time on it and preferred gymming instead. So I wondered, why not follow what you like? So from 1st January on I decided to devote my free time to yoga every day.

January has passed and I can only hope for the next 11 months of 2016 to be that blissful. That’s why I want to share this wonderful way of making your life balanced and peaceful.

Here are 8 reasons for you to roll out your mat today!

1. Only you

With all the hustle and bustle modern day lifestyle brings to daily life it is almost impossible to spend time alone with yourself. And even when we are actually alone the next thing we do is switch on the computer (TV has probably lost its charm). Yoga is a chance to look into yourself, concentrate on your inner emotions and feelings and listen to them. You learn to harmonize your body and mind and start to understand what is actually important for you. With the help of breathing, you can calm your mind, leaving all your troubles behind.

2. Relaxation in fight for slenderness

It would be so appropriate to mention here a dream benefit for every girl. Unlike usual sport practices, yoga practice stimulates generation of GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric acid) that contributes to weight loss and fat burn. Moreover, pranayama - a practice of controlling the breath - stimulates and accelerates metabolism which does not only help to keep up the shape, but also refreshes your skin and complexion - a serious advantage for ESADE students.

3. Serenity

Practice switches your attention to yourself: from the outside to the inside. When you focus on yourself you become more aware of what “present” means. Yoga encourages you to focus on the moment and with that feeling comes the feeling of serenity and happiness.

4. Mind and Body Equilibrium

Yoga teaches you to understand balance. Sometimes this balance can be found even between incompatible states. For instance, you learn how to stay relaxed and focused at the same time. Eventually, you will learn how to use your yoga-mat-knowledge in real life: even an unexpected high-difficulty exam of Statistics will not be able to shake you.

5. Strength of mind

While doing difficult poses, we overcome the fear of an unusual posture of the body. As a result, we gain confidence on the yoga mat, as well as in real life: solutions to confusing and complicated problems come with the awareness of the ability to solve them.

6. No pain - Yes! Gain!

Yoga strengthens the lower back which is the most vulnerable area in our body. While other sports have a high risk of putting the back in danger, yoga mildly teaches us to listen to our sensations and not overdo what we cannot do yet. Caution and patience will grant you with a strong core.

7. Patience- A valuable take away

As already mentioned above, patience is one of the qualities you gain while practicing yoga. Nobody can do a split or balance themselves while doing a handstand within one day unless they want to spend some following weeks in a hospital. It only means that you should be persistent in practice. Even if the progress is hardly seen, keep going! It takes time to get the first results!

8. Panacea against fatigue

Can’t get enough sleep because studying is so overwhelming? Just keep calm and meditate! Only 15 minutes of meditation can give the same effect as a couple of hours of sleep.

As you may see, yoga isn’t just a popular trend in the modern society. There is a very deep philosophy standing behind all these intricate poses. The main idea of yoga is balance and happiness. I took this path and I say from the bottom of my heart - happiness is inside, go find it!