September is National Yoga Month and is a great time to try out a yoga class, or if you’re like me, time to get your yoga back. I love yoga, it truly changed my life. I started practicing yoga so long ago, I barely remember how I got started, but vaguely recall when practicing martial arts being at a studio that offered yoga as well. Over the years, as I built a more active practice, I had a yoga teacher ask me to take over her class and from there I began teaching several places around my full-time job.
Later I was lucky enough to be able to go to Costa Rica to train. For the first time in my life, I got to leave the country all by myself to travel to a yoga retreat in the Rain Forest for fifteen days to earn my certified yoga teacher credentials. It has often been said, we teach what we need to learn, and similar to Jung’s theory of the Wounded Warrior, for me that is very true about yoga. I believe most people come to yoga because they are in search of inner peace, (or in some cases the elusive yoga butt). I have always been a worrier, although it may not seem like it to people on my surface. In some ways I am calm and extremely laid back, but inside my busy brain, I am often worried about my family, thinking about all the things that I need to get done, planning my future endeavors, thinking that we are out of toilet paper, disturbed by the world news…. Anyway, I could go on and on, but I’m sure you get my drift.
After my son was in an accident at the age of fourteen that put him in a coma, I saw the healing effects of energy work and imagery so I trained in guided imagery, which is used in mediation and therapy, to help students and patients focus their mind on positive, healing images. That was in itself another life-changing addition to my life and I incorporate guided imagery today into my meditation when I teach, as well as with my personal training clients at the end of their workout.
I continued to study various philosophical books on yoga and similar practices, including martial arts, which carries very similar mind-body connections. I taught many workshops on women’s empower and self-esteem, worked with victims of domestic violence and young men in jail. I really believe that yoga is more than a physical activity, it is something that you bring into how you live your life.
Over the years, life sometimes gets away from me and my yoga practice slips especially when I am not teaching a regular class. I notice things in my life start to change when I am not actively practicing. My stress level seems to increase, my sleep becomes more of an issue, my weight becomes harder to manage and I lose the energy I once had. Over the past few years, I have waxed and waned in my practice, but recently decided I needed to get my yoga back and have slowly started to build my training again. It truly is a “practice” and will be a lifelong journey for me, but I love to be able to share yoga with others whenever I get the opportunity to teach a class or a workshop. How has yoga helped you in your life?
Liz Jones is a wellness professional in Rockwall, Mesquite, Wylie and surrounding areas. She is a writer, certified yoga instructor, personal trainer and wellness coach. She holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and Strategic Management, with a graduate certificate in Ethics and Leadership. Her undergraduate studies included communication, business, writing, art, fitness, and dance. Liz Jones can be reached at: [email protected].