She looked me dead in the eyes and said… “but I HATE yoga”

Now, I totally get that feeling - that’s how I feel about any number of things… jelly and egg whites being two right at the top of my list.

But it really got me thinking. Why do I enjoy yoga? Why do I even DO yoga?

In this world where everything seems to be suddenly trendy, or the flavour of the month that everyone starts popping up on instagram posting photos of. I would say that my version of yoga is about as FAR from the instagrammable yoga bendy poses that inundate your feed if you start flipping through any of the relevant hashtags. (Side note - I don’t follow any of these because I found I immediately felt less than or unworthy because that was NO WHERE near how I looked practicing yoga - the UNFOLLOW button is your best friend if you find yourself in this kind of situation!)

Firstly for me, when I started (without even owning a yoga mat or a pair of leggings may I add) … I needed to find gentle, slow, nourishing exercise. Preferably something I could do at home … for free. Health collapses and living in the middle of nowhere gave me a limited range of options really! No handy barre class or pilates studios for me! Yoga videos online on my living room floor were my starting point. I had zero idea what I was doing, & I’m pretty sure my dog was convinced I was needing to be saved from a serious medical event.

Secondly, I can practice for as long, or a quickly, or as scattered throughout my day as I like. Plus literally lying flat on your back on the floor breathing deeply counts as a yoga pose. YES PLEASE TELL ME MORE.

Thirdly, I really enjoy the fact that yoga lets me connect deeper into my devine feminine. I live quite a lot in my more masculine energy… so flowing, bending, slowing… these are things that allow me to feel feminine and wonderful. It’s so different to the high impact sporting & exercise lifestyle I’ve had… and that difference, no matter how awkward or uncomfortable feels INCREDIBLE.

Now to give you guys the real juice here - because I want to help share as much as I can… I now subscribe to @melissawoodhealth workouts… think yoga combined with a little more targeted muscle work - but slow, calm, connected. I adore Melissa & her teaching style. You can choose from a range of videos that shuffle every month. Pick whichever you like, depending on what you feel like doing, how long & the part of your body you fancy working on.

(My top tip if you’ve never yoga’d before… going to at least one class IRL or finding a good video online is invaluable for getting your technique right for holding your weight on your hands and your spine positioning!)

Which team do you fall into? Team Yoga? Or team I’d rather No-ga?