5 Things I Love about Yoga

I’m linking up with Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC, Cynthia from You Signed Up for WHAT?!, and Mar from Mar on the Run. This week’s Friday Five theme is Five Things I Love about ____ . . . And I chose YOGA! 

Things I Love about YOGA! | FrenchFryRunner.com

 

I’m still running and lifting, of course, but I’ve been focusing a lot more on yoga lately. So, to celebrate that, I thought I’d share five things I love about yoga.

  1. I can practice in my pajamas! They say you can just roll out of bed and go running, which you can–once you put on shoes. But you don’t need shoes with yoga! You don’t even need a mat. You can begin your practice anywhere and at any time.
  2. I know what utkatansana, vrikasana, trikonasana, and savasana mean. Being the word nerd that I am, I love that I know a little Sanskrit. 🙂
  3. Yoga helps me center myself. I can be pretty high strung and stressed out, but yoga helps me focus inward and let my worries and stresses dissolve. I can better live in the moment through yoga.
  4. Yoga makes me happy. And happy people just don’t shoot their husbands. They just don’t. . . . In all seriousness, though, I can honestly say that yoga has improved my relationship with the world around me, myself, and my husband. I’m a much happier and nicer person after I’ve practiced yoga. And people want to hang out with a happy person, right? No one likes a downer. Sometimes the Engineer and I practice together, and he is calmer and happier too. Everyone benefits from yoga in my house! 🙂
  5. Yoga meets you where you are. This is why yoga is a practice. You don’t have to force anything. You can just be where you are, whether you’re a beginner or you have been practicing for years. With yoga, I always see improvement–in my flexibility, my strength, my focus, and my heart.

 

Looking pretty graceful, I gotta say! :)
Looking pretty graceful, I gotta say! 🙂

Rebecca from Strength & Sunshine encouraged us in one of her posts to find our own yoga, which is different from others’. I’d like to share with what my yoga is, and I hope you’ll read her post and contemplate what your yoga (or running or favorite activity) really is and be mindful of that.

Here’s what I wrote:

My yoga is fulfilling, strengthening, contemplative, calming, and invigorating. It helps me center myself and look inward. It is a spiritual experience for me, and I feel this way whether in class or at home. After spending years in competitive sports in my youth, yoga is the perfect opposite for me. It’s all about my personal practice and no one else’s.

So do you love yoga? Why?

What pose are you working on right now? I’m trying my darndest to get into bakasana, or crow pose.

What do you love?

What do you love? It's #FridayFive with @eatprayrundc @yousignedup & @marmaone1. Click To Tweet

Don’t forget to #taketheleap with prAna and Fit Approach. Details here.

It’s not too late to join in the 12-day #bringingyogaback mini challenge. Details here.

 

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I’m also linking up with Jill Conyers’s Fitness Friday and B.J. for #FitGeekFriday. Be sure to check out the hosts’ pages and find other fun blogs to read!

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Author: Whitney

Runner. Cook. Editor. Blogger. French Fry Connoiseur.

30 thoughts on “5 Things I Love about Yoga”

    1. Welcome to the yoga family! Yoga is great because we each have our own practice and can grow and improve when we’re ready. Happy Valentine’s Day! 🙂

    1. Thank you! It’s so true. We can’t reach beyond where we are until we’re ready, so it’s no use trying to compete with anyone. 🙂 Happy Valentine’s Day!

    1. I love how much it relaxes me too, especially since I can be so high strung. Hope you can find time soon for that relaxation! Have a great weekend too, and Happy Valentine’s Day!

  1. Um, being able to practice in my pajamas is definitely one of my favorite things about yoga, too, Whitney – ha! 😉 I don’t take the time to practice as often as I should, but I do try to incorporate a few poses into my post-run routine each day. Thanks so much for a great post; hope you have a wonderful weekend!
    Tara @ Running ‘N’ Reading recently posted…All About LoveMy Profile

  2. Great post. I found myself saying, “Yes!!!” to so much of it! My practice has changed so much through the years. When I first started, I was into the hard-core, sweatfest, cardio types of yoga (Ashtanga for me) and loved the physical aspect. Then I got more into the mental aspect. Like you, I find that I am so much calmer, less stressed, and happier. Things that irritate most people usually roll right off me. These days, I am more into gentle, recovery types of yoga to complement my running. I guess that’s what I love most about yoga–your practice can change with you as your needs grow and change. Have a great weekend!
    Jennifer @ Running on Lentils recently posted…Five Things I Love: Animal EditionMy Profile

    1. I just love the flexibility of yoga. When you want a workout, you can get one. When you want to focus more inward, you can! Yoga helps every aspect of my life, and it meets me where I am. Happy Valentine’s Day! 🙂

  3. I haven’t done much yoga, but whenever I’ve done it I’ve loved it! I definitely need to find more time in my life to make it a priority.

    Also, loved the legally blonde quote, I’m always using that reference in my life and sometimes get weird looks from people for it haha!
    Elizabeth recently posted…Friday Five: Things I Love!My Profile

  4. Great post! I haven’t been to yoga for ages but I loved that there were so many opportunities within the practice. Yoga can be whatever you want it to be (relaxing, strengthening, mind clearing) and it is difficult to say that about running perhaps.
    Leana recently posted…Five Things I Love About CalgaryMy Profile

    1. I love the flexibility of yoga. It meets you where you are. Yeah, it’s hard to say that about running, though you can definitely apply some yoga principles to running. Have a great weekend! 🙂

    1. I’m totally fine with that! Yoga’s the best! Good luck on bird of paradise! I’m nowhere near flexible enough for that. Someday, though! 🙂 Happy Valentine’s Day, Jill. Om Shanti!

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