It’s amazing how much people can change over the course of their lives. Whether it’s because they decide to change for the better, or because they want to make a difference in the world, or just because they found someone (or something) who allowed them to be themselves, it’s strange to think that one person can transform between two very different versions of the self they show the world. Take me, for example. Yoga transforms lives and it transformed my life as well. Based on my blog posts and social media accounts, you might not guess it, but my life has changed so much from the way it used to be when I was a kid. I always felt like I was a little bit different than a lot of the children around me, and it never seemed like they entirely understood who I was. I remember feeling so lonely without a group of friends to relate to. A lot of the other girls my age had no interest in trying to understand me or even getting to know me, so I couldn’t count on them to be my friends. Even as we grew up a bit, I could tell that the people around me were constantly judging me based on the fact that I looked a little different and was interested in different things than they were interested in.
I knew they thought I was weird because I was into yoga and astrology and most of those kids hadn’t found something that they were really passionate about yet; not the way that I was passionate about my interests, anyway. I had hoped that with these interests I would find a community where I would fit in a little better, but it seemed like I was a misfit in my yoga classes, too. I was very tough on myself, convinced that I wasn’t “flexible enough,” because others in my classes could stretch much further than I could. I even injured myself a couple times because I had been looking around the room at the other girls, trying to push myself to look more like them. But I pushed too hard, and I had to take a step back and really evaluate what this “yoga” thing was really supposed to be about. I was able to go back to basics and find the foundation that yoga is built on. This is when I felt that yoga transforms lives for the first time. It reminded me that the principles of this physical practice, teach you to accept yourself for who you are, rather than trying to become something you’re not because you’re convinced it’s “better.” Yoga gives you a chance to hone your body and be grateful for all that you have in life, even if it sometimes feels like you have nothing.
Yoga transforms lives because it teaches us that we always have something, even if it’s something small, even if it’s something we usually take for granted. You always have your body. You can use it to stretch and practice and turn yourself into a better version of yourself if you’re willing to work at it every single day. When I came to this conclusion, I started acting more like myself. People noticed a change in me, because suddenly I was attracting the right people who wanted to be my friends. They were the type of people who like me for who I am, not for who they thought I should be. They understood me inside and out and they supported the choices I made and the interests I had and the goals I set for myself. Plenty of the best girlfriends I met during that period of my life are still my friends today Because of the struggles I had as a little girl, I decided to become a yoga teacher. I wanted to make sure that other people who had an interest in yoga weren’t missing out on the key teachings of yoga that I myself had lost sight of so easily. To me, becoming a yoga teacher seemed like such a good way to help people feel comfortable in their own skin and to show them that whoever they are on the inside is great, too! In my yoga classes, I make sure to remind my students that love, be it love for others or love the self, is such a powerful force, and that allowing yourself to love the things and people that you love without being ashamed of it is one of the most important things you can do to keep yourself happy and healthy.
My classes also stress the importance of acceptance. So often when we see something or meet someone we don’t understand, we decide top quickly that they’re just weird or that they don’t deserve our time or attention. But what if that person needs a friend more than anything in the world at that moment? What if you need a friend, too, but you just don’t know it yet? You could be missing out on one of the best friends you’ve ever had, just because you wrote them off as “strange” a little too quickly. Yoga accepts everyone and anyone, and we should do the same. No one remains entirely the same throughout their whole life. Some people change a little, and some people change a lot. It doesn’t matter how much you change, it only matters that you’re changing for the better and that you’re trying to help others become better as you go. That was my whole motivation for becoming a yoga teacher, and by showing my students the principles of yoga, I think I’ve managed to expand their knowledge of themselves and of their fellow yoga enthusiasts. I’ve watched people’s walls come down in my classes and I’ve seen some pretty deep friendships form and it makes me so happy to know that I was able to help those people get what they really needed out of yoga. Yoga transforms lives and shows me what I really need and it helped me become brave enough to reach out and take it. Hopefully, I can continue to help others do the same.