International Day of Yoga

We are back with yet another international day. Where do I get these from? Actually, they are official! The United Nations, under their motto «peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet«, declares international days to give room to and create awareness on matters of general interest, such as the protection of human rights, sustainable development or health.

As you may already know, travel, sports and health are subjects that greatly interest me, and I enjoy writing and sharing about experiences that mark my everyday life and my life of travel. I recently published an article on superheroes (that I think you should read, and invite you to do so!), and today, 21st of June, we celebrate a new interesting day:

Happy international day of yoga!

I find it somehow funny that I remember getting really bored during some yoga classes I took about ten years ago in some gym. And for that reason I was really surprised when I got hooked on yoga during quarantine… I could not stop learning, meditating and practicing! Perhaps at this point in my life I was really prepared to receive all the wisdom that this discipline entails, in such a holistic way.

Physical activity needs to keep happening! (I said to myself) So I surpassed the acquaintance status with the building stairs and paid my daily visits to the rooftop for training sessions and dancing under Mister Big-vitamin-D. Back on my computer, I randomly found a yogi girl who was offering short yoga guided lessons via youtube. I was curious. A few of my dearest friends told me how they practice it everyday, and I liked the way this online yogi talked in her videos: natural, with a smooth voice, without forcing or big ambitions for the newbies… just flowing. It was just a great way to connect with my own body, breathing and movement (just like freediving!), disconnecting from the frustrations and impotence of the lockdown situation, letting go, and becoming grateful and appreciative of the now and what I am and do have.

I honestly cannot remember when it was that I first practiced yoga. Maybe it was when I was about five and started practicing rhythm gymnastics for so many years… the warm-ups and the stretches are so similar! It could have been before or after that. Perhaps that gym class, in high school or at university, or when I was training for my freediving competition! There was so much focus and attention on the body and breathing… I definitely recall studying and practicing while being the head of the PE department in a high school and preparing my student Lea for her GCSEs in yoga… It could have also been in the last few years, with my workmates during some of our fun free time. Actually, I could have also practiced without even knowing that yoga was the name of what I was doing! So when does one really start?

I guess since the beginning. Who more is in the here and now than a baby?

Anni Taskula

So this makes me think. I don’t know even half of what there is to know about it.

An idea popped up

Who can tell best how yoga is lived but people who do it or have it as a lifestyle?

I decided to interview a handful of beautiful people who I know and/or have served me as inspiration. Men and women from different backgrounds have dedicated some of their precious time to bring you, dear readers, a perspective on yoga that you won’t find in the books or navigating the Internet.

So what is yoga?

Yoga is more than a physical activity that comes from India: it is also mental and spiritual practice. That’s why it is an amazing practice for mindfulness! The actual word yoga means unity, as it symbolizes the union of mind and matter.

Yoga holds such significance that in December 2014, the United Nations recognized not only its universal popularity, but also the need to create awareness about its great benefits, emphasizing the importance of individuals and populations making healthier choices and following lifestyle patterns that foster good health. So the international day of yoga was created, to share the advantages of this practice, for the benefits and wellness of the worldwide population.

Yoga practice generates this feeling of deep awareness of oneself and the energy one feels, through mind and body alignment, reconnecting within to then connect with the outside. Here are some of the benefits that my interviewees and myself thought of:

• Physical benefits
  • Flexibility
  • Strength
  • Balance
  • Agility
  • Lung expansion
  • Body posture
  • Limbering the body up for the day
  • Feeling the tension in one’s body which one may not have realized before
  • Helping to slow down
  • Helping with breathing patterns
  • It is a non-invasive practice  (UNICEF affirms that children can also practice any yoga posture without any threat or risks, and obtain the same benefits as an adult)

• Mental/ emotional benefits
  • Focus and concentration
  • Discipline
  • Better sleep
  • Better ability to meditate
  • Better ability to control negative thought patterns
  • Reducing stress
  • Increasing relaxation and feeling at peace
  • Increasing optimism
  • Awareness of the present moment, helping being in the here and now
  • Freeing oneself from the ego’s control over the mind
  • Engaging self-awareness and the experience of being

• Relations benefits
  • Providing new ways of looking at life
  • Increasing appreciation towards life and all living things
  • Increasing humbleness

The yoga practice

Most of us, from the newbie who started months ago in 2020 to the experienced one of eleven years on the yoga road, do practice «physical yoga» from ten to thirty minutes three times a week, to every single day. On top of that, even when the physical part of yoga is not present, the yoga lifestyle mode is still on. It has been really interesting for me to read affirmations from whom I would call «the big yogis» stating «I am hooked on its philosophy of life, but I don’t do much practice» (said Yassy), or «sometimes I do asanas (yoga positions) daily, sometimes I don’t do them for a month«. A month without doing physical yoga? Indeed.

At least half of the participants made statements on practicing yoga everyday, yet not doing the physical part.

What about the physical part?

I love it when I sit on my simple version of the lotus position, put my hands on my knees facing up, close my eyes, and start breathing. In that moment, I feel loving, caring, positive, dedicated, disciplined, committed to myself, my peace, my well-being, for balance and harmony. That me-time for self-love and personal growth needs to be contagious!

Warm-up starts, twist here, downward facing dog there, stretches of the back, and I feel focused and challenged, appreciative and attentive; I’m listening and feeling, I am playful and silly and free.

When the body wakes-up, the soul can express itself better, the body regenerates and heals itself through the practice.

I personally love the asanas in which I work a lot on balance, picking myself up in strange ways; and on flexibility, which may hold a nostalgic factor, checking how much muscle memory my body actually has!

I love the fact that many of my interviewees, male and female, love inversions and consider it SO fun to be upside-down! «And that inverted perspective is always a treat!» – It may be a common factor that we all love challenges!

Is yoga for everybody?

«Everyone could use more mindfulness and connection with their bodies. The beautiful thing about yoga is that there are infinite ways to practice it and experience its benefits«. Yoga has been recommended by everyone and for everyone, as it is a personal journey, unique to each individual. «All you need is a body and a mind!» (said Cat), and be open-minded and not overwhelmed.

Especially after quarantine, yoga has become quite trendy, and lots of people have started to practice it just because it is fashionable. This can result in mixed spiritual messages, having yoga being stamped falsely through that image, risking the lack of a clean technique and even leading to physical injury if not done properly.

So people who know this practice, recommend trying different teachers, starting progressively, small and consistent, doing basic asanas to get the body movement slowly, not giving up after the first thought of aversion, exploring what yoga has to offer, not just the asanas. Finding one’s individual hook. «Even if you don’t feel like doing a physical practice, yoga is also meditation, breathing exercises or a form of devotional or karma yoga«.

Each person has their own timing to initiate practice, and to decide how far they’ll go. It does me good, and I have seen impressive progress and changes in others. I would recommend others to start practicing from the base, from the very beginnings.

Yassy

Before wrapping up, I would love to share some of my dearest yogi’s life-changing experiences through yoga. Enjoy the stories!

A big thank you to all of you, my dearest collaborators for choosing to dedicate some of your precious time to help me create awareness about the beautiful discipline of yoga on this special day. Ricardo, Cat, Anni, Nuša, Julieta, Matt, Patrick, Kassandra, Yassy and Janice: THANK YOU.

I leave you with some gratitude and a few more great quotes. Peace in! Namaste.

Yoga rules! It has allowed me to feel so much more deeply and listen to even the slightest requests from my body. I am happier, healthier, and more in love with life than ever before. And the journey that led me here began with a Bikram yoga class my friends dragged me to despite me thinking yoga was lame, and not for guys like me. How wrong I was 😀

Patrick McConnell

I doubt there would be a single war if our current leaders would all practice yoga.

Anni Taskula

Did you enjoy this article? Feel free to share it and invite your friends and family to celebrate yoga day with you! Have a beautiful and happy day!