How yoga changed my life

The old me

I started practicing yoga when I was a freshman in college because I was looking for something to kickstart a workout routine. Within a few weeks, I was noticing differences in my body. I was an athlete in high school, which left me with a weak left hip and bad lower back pain (yes, at the age of 18). Within a month of practicing yoga, the pain had subsided, and it would eventually go away altogether. I’ve been several years without any lower back pain, and I can only attribute it to yoga.

The new me

Apart from the obvious physical benefits it had on me, yoga helped me change the way I thought of myself and calmed me down. A big part of yoga is controlling one’s breath and focusing one’s mind as a method of relaxation. We simply don’t do this in our culture anymore. We think of relaxing as watching television or being on our phone, but we never just sit in silence for five minutes and think/listen/be. For me, this changed everything. I became more intentional about setting time aside each day to pray and slow down, and I could feel so many things in my life start to change. I became calmer, able to deal with stress better and felt more connected to God.Fast forward seven years, and yoga is still a huge part of my life. I fell in love with it so much that I got my certification and started teaching. I wanted people to know just how much yoga could transform their lives like it did mine. With the combination of bootcamp classes and yoga, I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m stronger, more flexible and less stressed than I’ve ever been.

What's to come

Let's get one thing straight: yoga is truly for everybody. I say that because people always tell me, "I can't do yoga because I'm not flexible." But I wasn't flexible when I started yoga either. It's a journey, just like anything else. Besides, life's just more fun when there's a bit of a challenge involved! See you on the mat! XO,Bre