What yoga brought me

About 1,5 year ago my anxiety was pretty bad. I felt very insecure and anxious most of the time. In that period I was also seeing a therapist to help me get back on track. She advised me to do Yoga to calm my inner self. Yoga? An hour of humming on a mat? How would that help? I was very sceptic at first. But ok, I am open to try new things, especially when it's on doctor's orders.

I searched online for yoga classes near Hasselt. After comparing a few I decided to go for Takeayoga.be, with teacher Els Sevenants. I still remember entering the "classroom", with the yoga mats spread out and the teacher sitting there. "Hi, welcome! You are lucky to have your first lesson today, it will be calm so I have time to talk you through it". When everyone arrived, we started with a warm-up stretching to loosen the muscles. Neck bends, arm stretches, planking and then... my first downward facing dog. Uuughhh this is hard! But Els is a very good teacher and her voice guided me through everything perfectly. I felt a bit uncomfortable at first in those crazy poses, and sweat was already starting to drip down my spine.

After what felt like 15 min, Els instructed us to lie flat on our back on the mat, with hand palms facing up next to our bodies. She put on a nice, soothing music and then I realised the 1st class was already over! This was cool-down. I did an internal body check with myself, and I felt calm, stretched and warm. Peaceful. This entire hour, I thought about absolutely nothing. I was too busy focusing on my body and the flow we were in.

The day after, I was not so happy. My muscles were incredibly sore! For all the people who think yoga is not exercice: you are wrong! It might not be as intense as fitness, but it does stretch your muscles and build up strenght. And from that moment on, I had my weekly yoga appointment on Tuesday. And that 1,5 hour is complete me-time. I let go of my anxiety, my overthinking, my to-do lists and chores. I focus on my breathing, my positions and how my body feels. And afterwards, I feel at peace.

The 21st of June was international Yoga day, and that is why I wanted to dedicate this post to what it has brought me. More inner peace, a stronger spirit and for sure stronger muscles!
A special shout-out as well to my yoga-group and teacher Els Sevenants. You all are amazing people and can't wait for the Summertime Sessions to start!

Namasté.