How Discovering Yoga Saved My Life
We all need something to snap out of it and make sense of this mysterious, wonderful, and never-ending journey called life.
Not too long ago, I was working in the nightlife industry. In an environment fueled by alcohol and drugs, I was steadily losing control of myself due to destructive behaviors. Deep down, I started to notice that something wasn’t feeling right.
The Message
One afternoon while sitting in front of my computer, an invite to a friend’s yoga class showed up in my inbox. I thought to myself “Why not”? I knew something had to change. I agreed and set aside my preconceived notions about yoga being a workout for middle-aged soccer moms.
When I arrived, it was shocking to discover that the practice of yoga far exceeded my expectations. It wasn’t about stretches, poses, or exercises. For the next four weeks, I came to learn about things such as suffering, non-harming, and self-care.
Yoga provided me with a vocabulary to make sense of my trials while equipping me with a framework to work through them. I left wondering how my life would’ve been different had I known these principles in my early twenties.
Doing The Work
Fast forward three years later of continuing my practice on and off the mat, and I’ve come to understand life more clearly. Life, in my opinion, is more about being the observer and watching things unfold. Thoughts will always come and go like cars on a freeway. And lastly, nothing can bring lasting contentment that doesn’t come from within.
Through it all, many unexpected changes have taken place. I rarely find myself binge drinking or consumed with my thoughts. The people I’m surrounded by push me to show up in the world as my best self. And I’m present to confront whatever situation life puts along my path.
This all came as a result of discovering and maintaining a consistent yoga practice. Had I not taken my friend up on her offer to attend the class, my life would potentially look dramatically different. Maybe I’d still be consumed by the night or doing irreparable damage to my body, or worse, causing harm to others.
How You View The World
If you’ve taken a moment to look around, you’ll see that everyone is viewing the world from a different lens. Up until I turned 30, I had a somewhat limited view of the world around me. Yoga provided a new lens. It showed me a path when I felt pathless. It allowed me to observe things for what they are, not what I wanted or expected them to be.
There’s a quote by Wayne Dyer that sums it all up, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
My motive isn’t to convince you to take up a yoga practice or run off to join a monastery. I know life is always happening in real-time on-demand and many times we’re not present to watch it unfold.
We all need something to snap out of it and make sense of this mysterious, wonderful, and never-ending journey called life. Yoga just so happened to be the bell of awakening for me. May whatever shows up on your journey be the catalyst for you.
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