While the physical practice of yoga can do wonders for our bodies, yoga is not simply exercise or a form of movement. Yoga places an emphasis on the breath. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali spend more time dedicated to pranayama (breathwork) than to asana (the physical yoga poses). Our breathing patterns can be a metric by which we gauge the health of our mind and spirit.

Practicing yoga allows us to use our breath to our advantage during times of challenge. We learn to use the breath as indicator and an anchor. We challenge ourselves on the yoga mat and the breath indicates what is happening in our body and our mind. When we become aware of what is happening within, we can respond appropriately and make adjustments that support us during our yoga practice vs forcing and fighting our way through it. The breath can also be an anchor. We can use the breath as a focal point during challenge. We learn to turn our attention to the breath during a physically demanding posture vs simply giving up. We can begin to combine the qualities of strength and love to gently carry us through our physical yoga practice rather than bulldozing our way through it or walking away feeling defeated.

With practice comes progress and we begin to live out our yoga practice in our daily life. Yoga becomes our lifestyle: we meet life’s challenges with the attitudes of strength, calm, love and kindness rather than with brute force, frustration, despondency or apathy. We respond more gently to life. We become gentle spirits.