Having worked in a stressful corporate city job in London, and then coming to Cambridge for my Masters, I know how mentally and physically strenuous these occupations can be.
I also know how helpful yoga can be for anyone working on a desk, in a lab, or at a screen all day.
For me, yoga is much more than an exercise class or doing cool arm balances and inversions – although all of these things can be yoga.
Ultimately, yoga is about connecting more deeply to the body, breath and self.
It is also a process of getting to know yourself better.
This means identifying when stress is building in your body earlier, and preventing burnout before you push yourself too far.
Because the more you are connected to your body, through listening to your internal sensations and mood, the more you can recognise when you might be coming too far out of balance.
Yoga then also gives you the resources to bring yourself back into balance.
Whether that is through a grounding flow or yin practice, holding certain asana (yoga postures) for a period of time, coming into a meditation or breathing practice, or even going for a walk.
Long term, this enables you to become more self-empowered, self-connected and better able to self-regulate yourself: physically, mentally, emotionally, and energetically.
Recently, in my class, me and my students have been talking about this in relation to the core.
Often, when we think about having a 'strong core' we think about tensing our abs, and the desired 'wash board abs.'
But, more often than not this is artificial strength, as opposed to deep core strength.
Here, true strength is about the regulation of the abdominal muscles and the abdomen’s internal pressure, not about overly tensing.
Students comment that they love my classes because, in this way, they help build awareness, strength and knowledge of their own body, unlike many strength-based classes at the gym which involve fast movement with weights.
With little awareness, this can often lead injury owing to bad form.
Rather, through yoga - connecting to our body, breathe, and the muscle tone of the whole circumference of our torso - we build strength and balance internally, finding great, centred form.
This kind of strength is magical, powerful, and helps you in daily life: on and off the mat.
Building strength, balance and awareness (proprioception - the sense of the body in space) it helps improve alignment from the inside out and therefore helps prevent injury in other exercise and life more broadly:
helping you move from a more balanced, centred, and connected space: whether you are lifting weights, dancing, carrying bags, or walking up the stairs.
Want to connect more to your body and find deeper inner balance and regulation? Join my online course, Posture through Proprioception!
In this course, we will connect deeply to ourselves, increasing our posture and internal alignment through proprioception - the sense of our body in space.
Have you checked in with yourself today?
See you soon, Floss x
