Finding Joy Through Yoga
Posted on 11/10/2022
Wellbeing, Health
Guest blogger Lilian Jean Everett teaches us how to find joy through yoga, regain a sense of satisfaction in our lives and focus on happiness!
Happiness has become increasingly evasive in this fast-paced world. The Office for National Statistics reports that the life satisfaction index has declined in recent years, and that 10.6 million of the British population has expressed feeling “anxious.” In such bleak circumstances, people deserve a wholesome activity or two through which they can regain a sense of satisfaction in their life.
Enter yoga—a healthy activity that touches on several facets of well-being. For example, an article on Healthline notes how yoga is commonly applauded for its physical health benefits like building strength, balance, and flexibility in your body. It can also increase your sleep quality over time. But aside from these benefits, did you know that you can find joy through yoga as well?
Here’s how.
Life can be stressful and demotivating when your hard work doesn’t feel rewarded enough. However, in yoga, especially for beginners, being able to perform yoga poses—like the Downward Facing Dog or the Kakasana (crow pose)—can feel rewarding.
Moreover, it is emphasized in B.K.S. Iyengar’s ‘Light on Yoga’ that at the core of yoga is pranayama or breath work to align your breath, body, and mind. This process isn’t easy, as you need a sense of control over your body and muscles for you to be able to breathe slowly and calmly during yoga practice. As a result, there is a sense of achievement in being able to master the whole process.
Overthinking can be stressful, causing unhappiness in the long run. Yogi Sadhguru says as much in his book ‘Inner Engineering – A Yogi’s Guide to Joy’’. The book encourages yoga as a method of shifting your perspective of life into a more open one. This is because the practice involves dhyana (meditation), and it helps you achieve mindfulness and awareness of your sensations.
When we are more aware of our feelings, we can process our thoughts with more self-compassion rather than spiraling into negative patterns of thinking. There is a plethora of guided yoga meditation materials on the internet that can help you be more mindful of your negative emotions and turn them into positive energy.
Work, especially remote set-ups, can easily make you feel lonely. You miss out on socializing at work and going to post-work get togethers. However, yoga, a hobby that you can easily enjoy with others, is an opportunity to start building lasting friendships again, outside of work.
For others, a love for yoga can also be the start of a collaboration. As detailed in ‘A Little Bit of Yoga In My Life’, Grace & Gravity studio was created out of a shared passion for wellbeing. Whether in a class or through a project, yoga helps you find joy through meeting people and bonding with them through the practice.
You can also build relationships with people from different places who also practice yoga. There are yoga retreats held in scenic and serene settings that you can treat as a holiday with your friends or as an opportunity to meet new people.
Finding joy through yoga is not just in the practice itself, but also in the relationships that you build along the way. And as it sparks joy in many ways, committing to it long-term may just be the change your life needs.
Start finding joy through yoga today and book onto one of Grace & Gravity’s joyful classes.
Article penned for graceandgravity.studio by Lilian Jean Everett
