What is Yoga?

I started practicing yoga somewhere around 2003. I had been a group fitness instructor for several years prior to that and felt drawn to a quieter, more inner-focused practice at that time. I got a basic certification in “Yogafit” so that I could teach at the YMCA where I taught other classes. I quickly fell in love and have incorporated it into my life in different ways ever since. Yoga has never really left me, although my practice and involvement have evolved through the years. It came in really handy during and after my divorce in 2010, when I dove head first into a more traditional practice and found a wonderful studio that helped me to immerse myself in all things yoga. The studio environment gave me the time and space to process and heal all of the pain, turmoil, and stress that having a young child and going through a divorce while trying to build a more solid business created.

It was during this time while I was helping myself to heal, that I gained a new appreciation for the power of “time on the mat.” Simultaneously, I was delving into my advanced training in hypnotherapy and seeking more holistic tools to share with my clients. I began to see how yoga could be a natural extension of therapy and I wanted to understand it more. So in 2012, I embarked on a journey of yoga teacher training and became certified in 2013. Since then, I have shared yoga insights and practices with you in my office, I continue to practice most days of the week and it provides a wonderful balance to my new fitness love, Crossfit. I find that my yoga foundation has provided me with the mobility needed to push myself and recover well from the intensity Crossfit provides. I was also inspired to create the videos that you may have seen on my site, the first of which I share below.

This first video is a part of a series of blog posts that will introduce you to the concepts of yoga and meditation as well as provide you with opportunities to practice both with me, right from the comfort of your home or office! I have also included a transcript of the video for you to read along so that you may take this information in on a variety of levels.

So if you have ever wondered what yoga is, whether it is worth trying out for yourself, or want to test it out for free, watch the video below and be on the lookout for more to come! If you have further questions after watching or have an interest in pursuing yoga further, feel free to contact me. Have fun and enjoy!

What is Yoga?

Hello! I’m Wendy and I am a Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice and also a Certified Yoga Teacher. I wanted to talk to you today a little bit about yoga and just what it is and how you might incorporate it into your life.

So this will be a basic introduction today and then I will also have some other videos on my website as a way for you to practice along with me if you would like to begin to use yoga in your life on a more practical level. So basically, the idea with yoga is that yoga literally means “union.” If you think of it as a union of your body, mind, and spirit, it utilizes all of those components. And in Western yoga, the yoga that we practice here [in the United States] it is a combination of your breath and movement. And it can become a moving meditation by coordinating your breath and movement in different postures that you learn along the way. You begin to bring yourself more into the present moment, you are more anchored in your body, and become aware of what is going on inside of you, which also helps you to be more in touch with what is emotionally going on with you, what maybe you are holding on to, or what maybe you need to let go of. And you can use the combination of movement and breath in order to release whatever is not serving you. So it can be a wonderful addition to a self-care practice. It’s a great way to take care of your body and increase your flexibility in your mind, body, and spirit. It is a holistic practice that anybody can incorporate. It’s good for all levels, so you don’t have to have experience with yoga, you don’t even have to know what it is! You can learn along the way, and it can be something that provides expansion in your life. Yoga is really such a great way to take care of yourself.

So if you would like to experience [yoga] more, feel free to access some of the sequences that I have here on my site, or you can access yoga in a local yoga studio, or whatever you are drawn to. I just encourage you to incorporate it into your life in whatever way works for you! I hope you give it a try and thank you so much for watching!

Click here for more information on Yoga and Meditation.

What is Yoga?

Click here to read a summarized transcript of the video