People often ask me to talk about the ins and outs of yoga: how it should look, feel and most of all, what it can do for them.

It’s taken me a long time to figure this out and like everything, my yoga shifts and changes all the time.

But f you asked me today about what yoga means, I’d tell you this:

Yoga shouldn’t hurt.

It shouldn’t stress you out or stress you in.

It shouldn’t be about this muscle or that bone.

How fit you are.

How strong you are.

Whether or not you can stand on your hands or touch your toes with your nose.

And it’s not about how well you can speak sanskrit or belt out an Om.

It is about finding yourself, your best self.

And learning how to come back to yourself even when life pushes you down.

Leaves you in little pieces.

Yoga means to connect, to yourself and to the present moment.

One inhale and one exhale at a time.

It’s about finding your smile, from the inside out.

And then sharing it with others.

 

When you figure all this out? Well, everything changes on and off the mat.

It really does.

 

 

 

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Author: Chantal O’Sullivan

Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: curlybird at Flickr