What is Yoga? That is a loaded question, yet so simple.
Yoga is Everything. To me, it has been different things to me during different times in my life. My yoga practice and its overall meaning has shifted over the years, as I have grown and evolved as a person. It is super interesting to me when I look back and reflect on all of this– the evolution of the human experience as you move through your life.
Back in my late teens and early twenties, yoga was a trendy exercise class that excited me. It excited me because I was determined to get the poses, finish the classes, and get more flexible. I always admired all the yoga instructors that I had and really gravitated towards those that gave a warming, genuine experience. I continued yoga here and there. Sometimes it would be months, or even years, but yoga was something I always came back to. Yoga always made me feel good, inside and out.
Yoga has become a tool for me that I am so grateful for. There was a point in my life I felt very lost and void. I eventually decided to talk to someone about it and actively sought counseling and medication for depression and anxiety. I did so for a at least a year, but I eventually began to feel that counseling wasn’t helping me. This was a personal feeling and preference for what my own experience was and would come to be. It became more a time to complain about all the things in life that I wasn’t happy about. How would I change these things? How could I ‘get happy’?
Eventually, I began learning more deeply about yoga and its ancient roots to India. This fascinated me. One weekend I went with a friend to an ashram retreat in upstate New York and it was the best experience I had ever had. I got a tattoo to always remind me of the experience and feeling that I had that weekend. Fast forward through crazy life and a few years later I had the opportunity to do a 200 hour yoga teacher training course that took my yoga love, experience, and knowledge to the next level.
For the next two years, and most current years of my life as I write this, I have completely changed as a person. It has been emotional, beautiful, hard, ugly, joyous, and the most humbling experience of my life. My mindset has shifted and I use this in my professional life, teaching young ones. Meditation and breathwork has allowed me to create a calm whenever I need it and grounds me to the Earth. My relationship with food has evolved to be more concious of healthy, clean eating; but also realizing that if I don’t have a perfect snack, meal, day, or week it will not be the end of the world. Yoga has taught me the discipline to truly love myself and the beauty found in the ebb and flow of life as we continue to evolve and change.
My passion is to continue to learn and grow, as a person.. to inspire and teach others.. to do good and be good through my actions and words.. to stay humble.. to realize there is no such thing as perfect.. and enjoy this human experience.
This is obviously the abridged version and experience of how yoga has helped me throughout my life. I would love to share a meditation or yoga class or maybe just a listening ear. I would love to hear from you and share my love of yoga!
Love & Light, Frankie
