Wish I had known the Benefits of Yoga sooner

Much like strength training, yoga is a great exercise to incorporate into your workout routine that is often misunderstood. It is often thought of for older people or hippies. However, yoga is good for everyone. When I was younger, I was diagnosed with a genetic back issue. Basically, in my last few vertebrae, there is no cartilage between them. This often caused a lot of pain and trouble sitting at my desk in school. I saw a few different doctor’s where I had injections done and was on pain medications. I was essentially told this was how my life would be. Injections in my back every 6 months, forever. Pain medications daily. I was 16 when I was told this. How could this be my life?

My mom told me I should try yoga. I laughed and said, “that’s for old people, mom”. I didn’t try it. When I left for college, I found a physical therapist to help. She gave me exercises to do and things to work on. By this time I was experiencing numbness down one of my legs because of the pain. I had to wear a back brace while I worked because I stood all day. And I was driving back home for more injections and pain medication refills.

A friend of mine was really into fitness and started working with me at the college gym on weights and dance. Then she got me into a yoga class. I thought it was okay but it would take me a few more years to really get into yoga and experience the benefits of this type of exercise. Fast forward a few years when I was going through a lot of pain and physically and emotionally. I needed something to help release the emotions I was dealing with. I decided to try out yoga again.

When I went to my first yoga class, I was a little nervous as it had been a while and I had not taken a formal class in so long. It was so hard. But so amazing. I pushed myself further than I had in a while and it felt so good. It had me hooked. I planned my whole schedule around those classes until my pass was up that I had purchased. Due to a new job and travel with that, I found a location by my office and would go on my lunch breaks. I was feeling so much better and could feel the benefits from those classes.