When it comes to fitness, mobility work or stretching is often the first thing people tend to neglect, but it is one of the things that can have the greatest impact on how you feel.

Repetitive movements from traditional fitness and activities of daily living cause limitations and restrictions in the body that yoga can begin to undo.  More-so if it is an intentional yoga practice that will enhance who you are as a person.  In this episode I share what the transition to adding an intentional yoga practice into your self-care plan might look like and some tips to making this happen. 

Adamantine® Yoga and walking are my primary tools for maintaining health in my life right now, and honestly, I don’t anticipate that shifting much.  The benefits I’ve experienced since fully transitioning to this lifestyle have helped me feel better than before, even as I’ve aged, and have prompted personal development within me that has enhanced qualities that only contribute to me becoming a better version of myself.

I also didn’t ever anticipate giving up strength and cardio training, but as my family grew and my needs changed, yoga seemed to be the path that was serving me the most, and I made the decision to set the other workouts aside to see if yoga and walking could be enough for me.  This transition didn’t happen overnight, and there was a time when I continued to do fairly high intensity workouts along with my yoga practice.  

I was definitely afraid to set those other workouts aside as that was my passion and my stress relief. 

But once I did, I realized that the change needed to happen so that I could grow as a person.  I always say that yoga comes into your life when you need it the most.

It’s not my expectation that any of my students only practice yoga.  I try to educate them on the relationship between traditional exercise and yoga and help them notice the signals they receive that may indicate what is serving them in life. 

And there may come a time when they get to that tipping in their own life in which yoga begins to take priority over other modes of exercise because they need to do the work that is going to take them to a higher vibrational level as a person.

Highlights:

3:48      Why yoga isn’t just another element of your workout plan

3:56      The mind-body connection

5:20      How yoga seeks to undo repetitive movement patterns

7:21      How physical limitations or restrictions impact your mind

7:48      Why fitness is thought of as a simple solution to a complex problem 

9:56      Why traditional fitness was working against creating my best self

10:17    Spiritual qualities related to fitness

10:40    Spiritual qualities of yoga practice

13:16    What my workout program looked like when I began to practice Adamantine® Yoga

14:45    Transitioning from cardio and strength training to yoga

17:18    Why yoga won over traditional fitness for me

20:11    Tipping point in the strength training + cardio to yoga transition

20:32    Fitness and yoga working together

21:25    How to begin to incorporate a yoga practice into your workout program

22:57    Yoga arrives in your life when you need it the most

24:38    Share you mobility practice

Resources:

TedTalk I mention in the episode:

Run for your life! At a comfortable pace, and not too far: James O’Keefe

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Schedule your FREE WEEK of class at Cairn Yoga & Wellness Studio to experience Adamantine® Yoga in Knoxville, Iowa.