[Fitness, Health and Happiness]: Guest Series: The Journey of a Future Yogini {Rani Shah}

Please welcome Rani, my next featured blogger for the guest series, Fitness, Health and Happiness!

Namaste and welcome to my first writing in a series of my yoga journey. Many thanks to Jill for asking me to be part of her health and wellness series. I’m excited to be participating in several health challenges and share with you my start into practicing yoga. Join me every Wednesday as I explore the Yoga Journey!

When I first stepped into the blogging world, I penned the name ScrapYoga, for my love of scrapbooking and the creative peace it gave me. My intention was to also take regular yoga classes and become a yogini. Well, two kids later, many jobs, a massage practice, and life in general, no classes…no yogini. But my new spark is to create that yoga path for myself and see where it leads. My inspiration also comes from my parents and their recent discovery and practice of yoga. They retired and moved to India three years ago. It was just a few months ago that I learned they have now taken up yoga every day!! I am so proud of them! I realized if I start this now, my daughters and husband will also be influenced with a healthy habit.

When I Googled Yoga, a huge amount of information came out. At first I thought, great, lots of resources…but quickly became overwhelmed. So I took a few breaths and actually found some wonderful sites to learn, not only poses, but rich history…..my history in East Indian culture.

My first lesson didn’t even involve getting on the mat. Instead, it was reading about the foundations of yoga, the benefits of yoga, and the variety of yoga styles. So hear is a bit of what I learned. Be sure to check the end of this post for some great links to sites I found most helpful during my research.

Yoga is ancient. It has been around for over 5000 years, and some even speculate for over 10,000 years! There are many paths in yoga, meaning you can take the physical path (Hatha), meditative (Raja), knowledge and wisdom (Jnana), and devotional (Bhakti). Ultimately, the goal of yoga is to attain unification and enlightenment through practice.

Benefits of Yoga are varied and amazing. From everyone I ever talked to about yoga and to what I have read, yoga has helped them with their personal needs. Everything from anxiety, depression and insomnia, to asthma, menopause and arthritis. Yoga can help your mind, body and soul connect and heal and create a general sense of wellness and great health. Now who wouldn’t want that!?

(Images courtesy of Google Images) But don’t take my word for it…find out for yourself! Check out the links and do the research and learn for yourself like I did. And then take it one step further and try. The very first pose I actively tried is called the Savasana. We all actually practice this pose every day. It’s simply where you lay on your back, legs and arms extended with palms of hands facing up. You take deep breaths in and out with your eyes closed. It’s very relaxing and to me, a very "full circle" kind of pose. Savasana or Corpse pose represents death, but not is a drastic, tragic way, but in more of a circle of life way. I just like the way it makes me feel…very serene!

Anyone and everyone can do yoga...and you don't have to be able to bend like a pretzel...you basically just need to be breathing and you're half way there! (image courtesy of Google Images)

Here are some great links that I enjoy and will be frequenting in my journey. Thanks for reading and I hope you gleamed some new insight into yoga from a very new beginner! I will be back on my blog next Wednesday to discuss a new pose and more insights from my mind, body and soul. Namaste!

Y is for Yogini- http://www.yisforyogini.com/-I love her insight and humor she brings to yoga.

Yoga Basics- http://www.yogabasics.com/-Great overall information about all that is yoga.

Babsbabble- http://www.babsbabble.com/-Yoga Babble-Sharing her journey of teaching and practicing yoga.

Spoiled Yogi- http://spoiledyogi.blogspot.com/-Wonderful insights into her yoga world.

Playful Planet- http://www.playfulplanet.com/blog.html-Great site with wonderful insights into practicing yoga with kids.

And just for fun since I love to digital scrapbook, here is a little something I whipped up! I was inspired by babsbabble and her Keep Calm and Carry On poster! Feel free to download and share! DOWNLOAD LINK

-Rani

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Thank you Rani. You can read more about Rani and her Yoga journey on her personal blog, Scrap Yoga.

I'm guessing that many of us already know the benefits of practicing Yoga regularly are many. What I didn't know was, more specifically, the benefits for runners. A little more info: Yoga for Runners and Yoga Journal

Do you incorporate yoga into your workout routine?