Yoga Begins…NOW

Do you ever tell yourself “I’ll start Yoga when…

a) “ I have more time”

b) “I’m more flexible”

c) “I lose weight”

d) “I can afford a studio membership”

e) (insert excuse here) ?

You’re not alone! But you might be misguided.

See, Yoga isn’t just about “doing” something . You don’t actually need anything- time, fancy leggings, a six-pack, or even a yoga mat to practice yoga.

You definitely don’t need a fancy gym or studio membership to practice yoga.

So what do you need to start? Just yourself, and the drive to discover who you really are.

The first of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras states:

“Atha Yoga Anushasanam” - translation: “Now Yoga begins”

This line has both a very literal as well as a more subtle message.

Literally, as this is the first of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, it represents that the teachings he has compiled are about to begin in the following lines.

Obviously. So why include this?

While there is SO much wisdom to be gained from the entire text of the Yoga Sutras, this first line is one of my absolute favorites. He’s not just saying “now I’m going to start teaching you,” but what I believe Patanjali is really trying to get across is this:

Yoga starts NOW.

and NOW means NOW. Now means “don’t wait!” Now means “not later!” Now is every moment, every breath, every time you remember to be present.

This is Yoga. And you can start practicing right now.

Every moment of our life can be Yoga, when we remember and choose to make it so. Being present in every moment and intentionally choosing our thoughts, words, and actions is Yoga.

Yoga isn’t just about folding yourself into different positions, chanting Sanskrit mantras or meditating for hours a day.

Yoga is how we live.

It’s about choosing to align with our highest selves in each moment. It’s about making every action an act of service, love, and devotion. It’s about releasing our egos so we can more fully show up for others and the world.

When you are here in the now, fully present with your mind, body, and thoughts all focused in the same direction (rather than scrolling on Instagram while talking on the phone, feeding your cat, and thinking about something else completely) this is Yoga.

Yoga isn’t something you DO. It’s a state where you are in complete presence, in complete awareness, in connection with all there is.

And, while this teaching is super basic, it’s not always easy for us to live this way! We get distracted by everything, we let our thoughts determine our feelings, we have WORK to do for heavens sake!

So, this is why we practice.

Every time you notice you’re distracted and come back to the present moment, you are practicing yoga.

Every time you’re stressed and remember to come back to your breath, you are practicing yoga.

Every time your thoughts get the best of you and start to form into harmful emotions and actions, and then you remember you are NOT your thoughts and choose to change your mind, you are practicing yoga.

All that follows in the remaining sutras are simply helpful tools to guide us along our journey to our greatest transformation into our highest selves. I’ll be sharing more every week.

In the meantime, remember this:

Yoga starts NOW.

Don’t wait. You owe it to yourself to start living with intention right now.

What are some ways you can start to live more mindfully? Let’s chat about it in the comments below.