What Yoga Means to Me

[Image Description: The front and middle of a purple yoga mat on a gray floor is pictured. "thursday" is in center-aligned cursive white text overlapping the yoga mat. "08:51" is in decreased white text center-aligned under "thursday." "friendly reminder: you are strong + beautiful + worthy of happiness + healing(white heart emoji)" is in center-aligned black text in a rectangular white box under "08:51." "BRYN ATHYN COLLEGE" is in center-aligned white text in a rectangular clear box with round points. A white upside-down tear drop shaped location symbol with a clear dot in the middle of it is on the left side of "BRYN." Part of one of my feet wearing a white sock and beige pants are also pictured at the bottom of the image.]



In my second trimester at Bryn Athyn College, I was required to take a Physical Education course of my choice as a General Education class towards my degree. I have always been very interested in participating in yoga from hearing about how calming and healing it can be; so, I chose to take yoga to fulfill this requirement and it was very enjoyable. At the end of the course, I had to write a final essay about what yoga means to me and since yoga is a common interest of the rest of the mental health community, I decided to upload my essay as a blog post.


CONTENT WARNING: I would like to mention that this blog post is written for educational purposes only and not intended to provide any professional services. Social media should never be used as a substitute for mental nor medical health care. If you suspect that you or a loved one are experiencing any health concerns, it is okay to get help, and I highly recommend seeking professional help from a therapist, medical doctor, and/or other health professional who is qualified to do so.



    Yoga is a type of physical activity and meditation where many different body postures are formed. There are a variety of different benefits that come out of yoga as well with one of the main benefits being that it can help people's overall health and wellness. To be more specific, yoga can help people's mental health and be healthy exercise. Yoga can be useful for mental health purposes because it is a commonly used stress reliever. This is because of how calming, relaxing, and healing it can be. Many individuals often utilize deep breathing while forming the different poses as well. Grounding techniques and deep breathing are often use in yoga to put one's mind in the present moment, maintain physical balance, and improve focus. Yoga also requires a degree of patience in order to make progress in staying physically balanced. In regards to how yoga can be an effective type of exercise, it can be used for stretching along with improve flexibility, strength, and posture and help with stiffness in body parts. Some people also use it as a spiritual practice and/or for self-care. In addition, participating in yoga can also boost people's energy and confidence and any yoga poses, especially the intense ones, can improve individuals' bodily fitness and overall physical health.


If you are interested in learning more about grounding techniques, here are some resources below including a book that I was required to read in my yoga class:

  • Give Back Yoga Foundation: http://givebackyoga.org
  • The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice written by Deborah Adele

[Image Description: The book called "The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice" written by Deborah Adele laying on a red, yellow, blue, and purple quilt. "Nonviolence Truthfulness Nonstealing Nonexcess" is in center-aligned light gray text at the top of the book cover. "Nonposessiveness" is in vertical light gray text facing to the left in the top right corner of the book cover. "THE YAMAS & NIYAMAS" is in center-aligned black text in the middle of the book cover. "Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice" is in center-aligned black text under "NIYAMAS." The previously described texts are in an orange background with a big black curve at the bottom of the book cover. "Deborah Adele" is in center-aligned white text in the middle of the black curve.]






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