Feeling Your Yoga Practice

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

― Maya Angelou

Like so many, I was saddened by the death of Maya Angelou.  Last week, as I read through her life history, many accomplishments, and poems, I was drawn to this quote, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. “   I am a big fan of inspirational quotes.  I almost always end my yoga classes with one, and this inspirational quote deeply resonated with me, and it got me thinking about what draws me to yoga.  It is how yoga makes me feel that is so alluring.  I am attracted to yoga because of the way it makes me feel physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

There are plenty of days when I just don’t feel like practicing yoga, or I have things to do that seem more pressing, or…. However, after practicing yoga, I always feel better physically.  100% of the time, I feel less stiff, less achy, and more nimble.  Never once have I finished a yoga practice and thought, I should have worked at my desk instead.   If I am having a bad day, or there are things pressing on my mind, yoga gives me a break from the chatter in my head, and often I leave class calmer and with a better perspective on the situation.  I also find yoga appealing spiritually.  When I practice yoga, I feel like I understand my place in the universe.  I accept and appreciate my body, my thoughts, and my role in time and space.  I sense that just as every movement in my practice should be mindfully cherished, explored, and appreciated, so should every moment and breath in my life.

The beauty of yoga is that it can mean different things to different people.  For some, yoga is just a physical practice.  For me, it is so much more.  It is a “feeling” practice.  I am hooked on the way it makes me feel physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  We are going to miss you Maya Angelou.  I will never forget the way your words made me feel, and I will think of you reverently as I feel my way through my yoga practice.