Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 79F. Winds light and variable..
Mostly cloudy skies. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: August 23, 2022 @ 3:42 am
This past weekend I was visiting with some friends who have been navigating recent loss and trauma. My friend Elena turned to me and asked, “Renee, what do you do when you feel shaken to your core?” I thought for a moment about all the hard times I’ve endured since my twenties and answered, “I do yoga.” I have found conscious movement and breathing–experienced through mindfulness practices like yoga, authentic movement and Qigong–have had a profound effect on my emotional well-being and have helped me to “feel to heal” more than anything else.
I was introduced to yoga at age 10 by my parents who were medical professionals. For years in my mid to late twenties I did yoga once a week at a yoga studio in Austin, enjoying the health and stress management benefits. But two decades ago I began to embrace the more subtle gifts that come from this ancient practice which has now become mainstream (34 percent–about 80 million–of Americans say they are somewhat or very likely to practice yoga in the next 12 months).
Why would a busy entrepreneur and parent carve out time each day for downward dogs? I have experienced tremendous benefits from yoga–which means to yoke or unite–but what keeps me coming back to the mat time and time again is this practice which:
• helps me feel more spacious on the inside. Sat. a.m. my teen was arguing relentlessly with me, but after my hatha class and an hour of yogic breathing, I returned to my family relationships more centered, relaxed and the “triggered feeling” was gone. Yoga allows me to more easily be with what is.
• reminds me that my problems aren’t mountains, they’re molehills. After practicing, I always reclaim a 30,000 foot perspective which supports me in being more aware, compassionate and clear about what needs my attention.
• uncorks my well of creativity. This article pretty much wrote itself in the last moments of my yoga practice yesterday. Many of my best ideas-and all my books-have come to me effortlessly while I’m holding pigeon or in triangle pose—two popular yoga poses.
I could go on and on about the gifts that I have received from a regular yoga practice–a happier disposition, a kinder relationship with my aging body, an openness and abiding curiosity towards others–but more than anything, when I do yoga I remember who I really am and I’m more easily able to access a sense of inner peace.
I challenge you to try a class. If you already like yoga, increase your frequency, create a home practice or try another form and do it differently (I love it all: Kundalini, Hatha, Chair Yoga, Vinyasa, Yin or Restorative and iRest—one of my favorites). Here’s an explanation of the different types of yoga: https://www.doyogawithme.com/types-of-yoga. Homebound? Yoga with Adriene on YouTube has some great free yoga videos. And, we are fortunate in Brevard to have a wonderful yoga studio right downtown, free yoga and Qigong at our library and many other yoga classes being offered at home studios, gyms and outdoors. Reach out to your friends who do yoga and ask if you can join them at their next class. Yoga keeps us flexible in body, mind and spirit!
Renee Peterson Trudeau is a Brevard-based, nationally-recognized mindfulness author/speaker/coach who is passionate about helping people find balance through the art and science of self-care. Join her Sept. 12 from 6-8:30 p.m. for Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: A Meditation Workshop for men/women in Brevard. View all her local and national upcoming retreats/events at www.ReneeTrudeau.com. Subscribe to her weekly life balance blog at www.ReneeTrudeau.com.
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