What yoga means to me

I first became aware of yoga more than fifty years ago, in my early teens, when my mother  took up classes. I remember having trouble going to sleep one night and my mother taught me some breathing techniques that she had learnt at her yoga class; that was my first introduction to the benefits of yoga and what we can learn from it.

I also remember, clearly, my mother reminding us to always take care of our spines by stretching and keeping the spine supple as everything radiated from there ( her words).

I’ve  been physically active from an early age, beginning with Physical Culture when I was around nine or ten years old. From there I discovered jazz ballet, followed by classical ballet as well as tap dancing and afro-cuban dance.

After having my first child, I had trouble finding an exercise class that resonated with me, so I started my own classes which were a combination of jazz ballet, stretches and a few little classical ballet moves thrown in.

In the 1980’s I discovered Jazzfitness and Jazzercise classes, I was all in!

Yoga came along a little while later, actually after I had torn a cartilage in my knee ( done whilst running on a treadmill). My physiotherapist had said that I would probably never be able to run again, so I slowed down on physical exercise till that felt healed, then decided to try yoga classes hoping that would help. I mentioned to the teacher at my first class that I wasn’t able to kneel very well because of that injury and she gave me encouragement by saying that I would most likely find  that yoga classes would help heal my knee rather than exacerbate the injury. She was right! And in fact I was able to take up running again, albeit slowly and for shorter duration, but a win nonetheless.

For more than twenty years now I have been a yoga devotee. I adore it and can wax lyrical and fervently about the many benefits of doing yoga. I personally find that it gives me body confidence as well as mental balance and spiritual nourishment. It’s a healing modality in many ways.

How we treat our bodies and our health in our twenties and thirties will partly determine how well we age. I want to age well physically with a strong body.

Yoga gives me physical stability and confidence as well as emotional nourishment and I hope and plan to continue practising it for many more years to come!

Nina Mc.