For me, yoga is peace, calm, and serenity.  It is connecting with my body in a gentle and healthy way that helps me access my inner world and feelings.  It is a sacred space to be with myself, do something good, and be quiet.  The spiritual aspect is huge for me too.  It helps reaffirm my connection to myself, the Earth, others around me, and the Universe.  The focus on spiritual alignment and light energy feels very real and powerful to me.   When I am doing anything meaningful in my life, if it feels effortless and comes with ease, this is a state of flow.  With yoga, I feel consistently connected to the flow of life, the correct pace to live, to slow down and live more intentionally.  I am a therapist and I have been teaching and practicing mindfulness for a long time.  To me, the connection and mindfulness that yoga has provided for me has truly helped to deepen the experience of my being, feelings, connection to others, and to my life. 

The practice of yoga seems to bring up other aspects in my life as well.  In the short term, I have had a great deal of resistance to certain parts of the practice.  I have been trying to work through the need to control, the difficulty in slowing down, and my own self-will through developing a consistent practice.  In the long-term, I realize that I need a consistent practice for my health.  As a therapist I sit all day, and I know that as I get older, a sedentary lifestyle can lead to inactivity and immobility.   Health, physical activity, and sport are important to me as I have been a runner for most of my adult life, and now, with age, running has become too painful.  I needed a new form of movement that could help me stay healthy and vital as well as spiritually and emotionally connected. So, I made a plan to incorporate my yoga practice into my healing work as a therapist so that I both get the benefit, and am able to to give others the gift of yoga as well.