My Brain on Yoga

by - Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Yoga brain...it's definitely a thing. Megan and I first realized it last week when we were in the locker room after class and could barely hold a conversation because we couldn't complete sentences. That's how zenned out we were.

Monday night yoga is quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of the week.

I've pretty much decided yoga brain is the best thing ever. Probably because it's the only time my normally very active mind is calm and quiet.

The sense of calm after yoga means that there aren't a million thoughts and worries flying back and forth in my brain. I'm temporarily able to forget about my never-ending to-do list and all my typical worries and anxieties just fade into the background for a few hours.

I'm normally a pretty anxious person. I stress and worry about weird stuff. Not to the point where it's debilitating or anything like that, just in the sense that my mind is always going a mile a minute, and it's really, really hard for me to calm it down sometimes.

This new Monday night yoga routine that I've started has really helped with that. It's crazy to me that I can walk into the studio with a million things on my mind and walk out an hour later without a care in the world. I'm calm and at peace, and it's a pretty incredible feeling.

I've always used running as my therapy in the sense that when I'm on a run, I can turn a problem over and over in my mind and come up with solutions. I can look at whatever is on my mind from different angles and find the best way to approach it.

Running is good for my soul in that way, but yoga offers something different. Yoga offers me the chance to give my mind a rest from constant problem solving. It allows me the chance to just be present and not worry.

And right now, with everything I've got going on in my life trying to balance work and school and social commitments, I need that.

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2 comments

  1. Tina and Fred2:24 PM

    Running and yoga, sounds like an excellent balance on many levels!

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  2. Hot yoga is regular yoga brain on scrambled eggs. it pushes you to the limits of calmness like the marathon does with running, I absolutely love it.

    Yes running and yoga does create a great balance, both mentally and emotionally. I enjoy both regularly. And flexibility is free speed, and core strength is a key to avoiding running injury, so the two are really complimentary. Plus, if anything is better than runner's butt, it's yoga butt. there's always that.

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