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My Yoga Journey, to Certification in Nanjing

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“Inhale. … Exhale.” 

These are the most said words in a yoga class. And if you have ever taken one, you have probably heard these words spoken to you by a yoga instructor who is oblivious to the fact that attempting to maintain your body in the instructed pose is, kind of, impeding your ability to inhale and exhale. 

Your legs are shaking, your arms feel tired and you begin to question why you started doing this to begin with. But when it is time for “savasana” (a yoga pose that requires complete mental and physical relaxation), you lay down and let yourself melt away into your mat. Then you sit up, bow and say, “Namaste”. As you leave, you feel accomplished, content, relaxed and you say, “Gosh, I love yoga”.

If you are a yogi, this may be close to something you have experienced before, or maybe not. There is, after all, more than one style of yoga class. Each style provides different benefits; some are more meditative and others more physical. Some help with stress relief, others help improve energy levels, focus on building endurance, strength or flexibility, and while some styles are inspired by others, no two are exactly the same. 

Yoga goes back a long time, so long so that no one can be sure when it originated. As a Sanskrit word which means “to create a union”, in yoga, this bond is between mind, body and soul. 

For some, however, who consider yoga to be more than an exercise, the word yoga can be a paradox, since yoga creates a union between two things that were never separate. 

But what yoga means to a person, I believe, is individually unique. To some, it’s a way of life; to others, a way to relax and detach. Some use it as stress management, others for the physical benefits or rehabilitation. Everyone has a different reason for practicing yoga, and a preferred style.

Yoga is not something you need to go to a class to learn. There are now many channels on YouTube, Apps and accounts on social media, that post free content and tips for how to begin a yoga journey. But if you are feeling discouraged with your practice, just remember that, while some yoga focuses on the physical, the goal of yoga is to help your mind and your body become one. The real mission of yoga is to open up your heart and your mind.

Personally, I started yoga because of my mom. Maybe not the best or most exciting original story, but it is the truth. She was practicing yoga to recover from a shoulder injury and always told me to practice as well, sharing with me how it benefited her and what it could do for me.

In classic teenager style, I didn’t pay much attention. That was until this year, when I joined her in some of her yoga classes. Then, I had a wonderful opportunity to participate in a yoga course and to ultimately receive yoga certification.

This course included learning some of the basic poses in Vinyasa or Ashtanga yoga, as well as how to assist a student to accomplish such. Though I had attended some classes before and tried practicing on my own with YouTube videos, I was somewhat unprepared for the intensity of the course. 

Previously, I had thought of yoga as a slow-paced, relatively simple exercise. I was so, very far from being right. There is a certain intensity in yoga that I never experienced with any other type of exercise. It is that need to have strength and self-awareness in everything, all the way down to your fingertips and toes, which makes yoga a unique activity. 

Though I am not far into my yoga journey, from the time I started to right now, I feel a real passion for yoga and feel motivated to continue improving. For me, right now yoga is about the physical and mental benefits it can bring to my life, but this this path is not predetermined. As time goes on and my practice develops, it will perhaps lead me in directions I do not yet know.

Nohemí took her course to gain yoga certification at Fiber Yoga Studio (凡博) in Nanjing.

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