Wellbeing Lifelong

I’ve done many different types of exercise over the last few years. Especially from 25, when I started working in an office, sitting down for 8 hours a day, and with a body metabolism that was not as fast as it used to be in my early twenties. Perks of getting old!

Swimming, body pump, aqua gym, running… those are among the ones I enjoyed the most and I got into at some point before, even running a half marathon once! However, going to the gym, or going for a run, was always a bit of an obligation to “do something” in order to stay healthy and fit.

Then, days before Christmas 2015 I signed up for the Introductory Offer at Indaba Yoga Studio. “Just £35 for 10 consecutive days of unlimited yoga! The perfect way to explore our timetable!” read the offer. “Sounds good”, I thought.

I wanted to try yoga for a while, it was just a 10 minute walk from my job at that time and I needed some distraction on those previous days before Xmas, as most of my friends were already out of the city and I had no plans. It was the perfect time to give it a go!

And I did. And I loved it. And I still do.

I must say that the end of 2015 was a particularly difficult time for me. A mixture of personal problems led me to feel anxious quite often (especially to fall asleep), struggle to relax, and be at peace with myself and the circumstances around me.

So I tested as many classes as I could during those 10 days. And the more I tried, the more I liked it. I looked forward to going to the classes, as opposed to what happened to other types of exercise. I think it is because of the slow pace at which each class beginnings, which makes you take it easy.

I worked out more than I expected too. Certain yoga types are very physical and challenging, and I sweated more than I did in many other classes before. I liked the shapes my body got into, I enjoyed looking at the mirror and appreciated the beauty of it, it made me feel good about myself and my body.

But the thing I probably liked the most, was the feeling at the end of every class. After all the sweating, the effort, the concentration… doing the short meditation after each class, always left me on a cloud. So cosy within myself, a mix of body tiredness and mental relax. It magically got rid of the anxiety knots inside the stomach that were present so often during that period.

Then the intro offer ended, I went back home for two weeks in Christmas, and at my return in January 2016, I continued where I left it. Bought a 20 class voucher, and kept exploring more and more, until today. The good feelings before, during and after the yoga are still the same… and for many more years to come, I hope.