Student Experiences

As I mentioned in my Heart of Yoga application I had noticed that practicing Ashtanga had had a positive effect on my frame of mind from the start. I was feeling a lot calmer and more patient in general after practice and the more I practiced the better I felt. This was aside from the obvious physical benefits.

I made the observation of the effect it had on my mind before I realised that that is a known effect of the practice,

and the main reason a lot of people around the world practice yoga in the first place. I had started practicing purely looking for the physical benefits.

When I saw the outline for the Heart of Yoga course it sounded like it would explain a bit further what potential the yoga practice could have in my life.

After having completed the course, some of it still remains a mystery but it has made me realise that actively practicing yoga in my daily life, both through the physical practice and by applying the yoga philosophy, has a profoundly positive effect on me and my relationship to other people.

It was especially the first couple of months of the course that were particularly enlightening to me, particularly realising that yoga is a mindset rather than just a physical practice. The discussions around non-attachment, selfless actions and the other more philosophical aspects were very interesting. This teamed with the fact that a lot of these psychological aspects will arise naturally through the physical practice.

On a more basic level it was also interesting to observe that through practicing more regularly, I naturally started to want to eat and drink and live more healthily. So introducing a more healthy diet was easy as it became what I wanted rather than a restriction.

As I became pregnant during the course of the year, another dimension was added. I had just started feeling great progress in the physical practice and it was at first a little disappointing to be stopped in my tracks, having to reduce and adjust the poses. But I soon realised what a great friend the yoga was in a time when my body was changing. It really gave me the opportunity to practice non-attachment and be in the moment. I have no doubt that practicing yoga up until the birth of my baby helped in having a healthy and active pregnancy, short labour and quick recovery, as well as a healthy baby!

Tone Strass