Body acceptance sparks the undoing of past trauma, societal expectations, and the cultivation of self-love. It requires lots of mental energy and focus to clear out our spirits and invite love in again, but there are ways to make it a little easier. Yoga has been a consistent practice in my life that not only strengthens my muscles, but my relationship to my body. I’m a firm believer that everyone needs a little yoga in their lives, but I specifically recommend it for those who feel overly critical of their bodies. Yoga allows us to feel empowered, and most importantly, become one with ourselves again. Here’s four reasons why.
1) Balance
Tree pose, eagle, crow pose...there are so many asanas that require us to align ourselves deeply enough with our bodies so that we can create a balance within our system. Internally, practicing balance pushes our brains to trust our bodies more. If you go into tree pose thinking you’re going to fall over, there’s a high chance you will. When it’s harder to achieve balance in yoga, it’s often due to the fact that we don’t feel balance in our lives. It’s a key indicator that you might want to reflect on what’s making you unbalanced, all thanks to your body.
2) Strength
Something I’ve focused on more lately is strength > weight. In loving my body more, I want to have strong bones and muscles so that later in life, my body will readily take on change as I age instead of fight against it. There’s nothing like the feeling of flowing through a full chaturanga and noticing the ease in which you’ve done it. Or getting your first crow and knowing how many times you’ve built up the strength in your arms. It’s liberating, realizing that you are supporting your body all on your own. Understanding that it is you who holds the key to your own sense of strength, mentally and physically.
3) Emotional release
A lot of emotions can be held within the body, leading to tense muscles or more serious long-term illnesses. Yoga facilitates an emotional release in your body that cleanses you of anything pent up inside you. It helps to open up your heart, all through body movement. I’ve found this to be a great addition to my own therapy and self-care. It’s helped me to appreciate how powerful my body can be in my healing process.
4) Intuition
While practicing yoga, often people begin to feel more in touch with their intuition. Messages from your inner light come to fruition more easily after a sequence, while in a resting pose like pigeon or child’s pose. You are most connected to your mind after you use your body to undo all the kinks that your recent experiences have forced upon it. You find answers you might not know you were looking for. If this happens, invite your intuition in. Allow it take told hold of you and listen to what it has to say.
What’s often forgotten is that we are one with our bodies. They are not a separate entity outside of ourselves, they’re who we are and what make us whole beings. Yoga, through the ever present mind-body connection, helps us to remember that.
If you haven’t tried yoga yet, here are some great free and paid resources to try out:
Your local studio’s new student package