As far as my fitness life is concerned, I've been on cloud nine from the moment I started practicing yoga. Prior to this, working out had always been something I dreaded, but so desperately needed. Still, the need to be healthy, to lose a few pounds, or to look better were never good enough reasons to get me to the gym.
Time and again I found myself coming up with a million excuses to avoid my workout. Suddenly, I would develop a massive headache, or my knee and back would go out. You name it, I was excuse nelly. For years, I sabotaged all efforts to get fit—all while complaining about my weight or how stiff my aching body was becoming.
There wasn’t one year that went by that at the stroke of midnight on December 31st that I did not vow, this year would be different. Yet, year after year I remained unchanged.
Finding Yoga
Longing for something better, I decided to try the one exercise routine that kept calling out to me—yoga. From the moment I became aware of the practice, I longed to be a part of that community. But for years, the excuses continued, only this time they were a bit different. I'm not flexible enough, I don't have money for the classes, I'm not an athlete, and so on.
Then, when I began my spiritual journey in 2012, I transformed in more ways than one. Not only did I begin to learn about mindfulness, meditation, and the law of attraction, but I also got a grasp of what the "practice" of yoga was all about.
From then on, I've been practicing yoga regularly and never do I think of an excuse to not do it. It's quite the opposite; oftentimes I can't wait to get home to get on the mat. I went from never exercising to exercising 4 to 5 times per week through asana.
The Key to a Successful Fitness Life
I have discovered the key to having a successful fitness life: We must do the thing that calls us.
For me it was yoga. I was lucky to have heard the call, but most of all, to have answered it. Without answering, I would still be in that feeling of longing to look and feel better, but never taking the necessary action to make it happen.
For me, yoga transformed my life forever. I am finally that healthy person I always dreamed of—mind, body, and soul.
