My Yoga Practice Made Me a Better Gym Rat

"After completing my 200-hour yoga teacher training this spring, I felt more in touch with my body than ever before. Suddenly, I could name each muscle group that was firing or stretching, and sense exactly which way I needed to move when my back was feeling tight. I was also in a fundamentally open space, soaking up new experience like a sponge, or a really deep, drawn-out breath."

"With this new perspective, I upped my gym attendance from a couple times a month to every weekday. Soon, I found that it wasn't a lack of natural physicality or athleticism that had kept me from a regular workout routine but a lack of discipline and willpower. More importantly, I discovered that I didn't need to force my way into some new exercise-obsessed identity, but simply flow into the shift in lifestyle."

A person rarely attended the gym until completing a 200-hour yoga teacher training, which increased bodily awareness and the ability to identify specific muscle groups and sensations. The training created openness to new experience and a combined mental and physical knowledge that felt invigorating. Gym attendance rose from a couple of times a month to five mornings a week. The main barrier to consistency proved to be discipline and willpower rather than natural athleticism. Applying yoga principles—breathing, showing up, leaning into discomfort—enabled a gradual lifestyle shift that made daily exercise feel like a privilege and an embodied practice.

Read at Yoga Journal