When I first started yoga, I was told by a yoga teacher that I am more flexible than strong physically. I was unable to enter, not to mention hold, plank pose since my back would automatically arch. I also remember how changes in schedules used to terrify me sometimes because I was not mentally prepared for the challenges that came with that. I took that into a snowball effect and it has affected me emotionally at times. I found myself breaking down when stressed and was not always in my element.
In many points of my life, yoga has helped me find calmness through chaos and taught me patience above all things. It taught me harmony, to not only be flexible physically, but also mentally. I remember waking up in the middle of some nights, unrolling my mat and just getting into a downward-facing dog to calm my mind down. I feel an indescribable sense of freedom whenever I practise yoga and not- so-secretly, enjoy the muscle-aches that followed.
Though not for very long, I can now get into and hold in plank and wish to work on my Chaturanga Dandasana (push-ups; Four-Limbed Staff pose). Today, I feel better “equipped” mentally to face changes in general. I can now accept and understand how change is a constant in our everyday lives; while it is scary to know that things keep changing, it is also comforting to know that things keep changing. I have since learned how to perk myself up whenever I am feeling down, through loads of puns as well as a good yoga session!
Hui Jie
200 Hour YTT Oct’20