While we each have our own reasons for practicing yoga, inevitably, there will be various aspects of our practice that develop over time. Even if you start out practicing for the physical benefits or for the head clearing benefits or the myriad of other benefits, overtime, you will most likely experience the full realm of yoga without even realizing it!

Yoga is not a practice of attainment, it is an unending process of self-discovery and self-transformation. (Yoga Sequencing, Mark Stephenson, pg 2)

Staying in the Present Moment
When we let go of of our thoughts & focus on the 'now' we can have quite an experience & every single time you step on your mat this experience can be awakened. Why would we want to rush through a class simply to get to the next thing? Using our breath brings awareness to our current situation. We don't need to be anywhere else except right here, right now.

Mindfulness
When we focus on being mindful, we live our lives with intention. When we live our lives with intention, we focus on what matters the most, the right here and now. Being intentional about our practice, showing up for our ourselves, focusing on our movements, listening to our body...all of it creates this harmonious balance when practicing yoga. 

Breath Awareness
Bringing awareness to the breath is the single most important aspect of any yoga practice. Our breath provides a focus for our practice. Our breath helps us maneuver through challenging poses & allows us to sink deeper into poses. Our breath pushes thoughts away that otherwise take up precious mind space. 

Connecting Breath/Mind/Body
When we make a conscious effort to do anything in our lives, it forces us to make deeper connections. When we're consciously focused on our breath throughout our practice, our thoughts tend to come & go without judgement & our body deepens into poses. We're more focused on our practice when the breath, body & mind are all connected & in sync.

Responding vs Reacting
As we bring awareness to our breath and gradually open up our body to the physical practice, we're actually turning on the Parasympathetic Nervous System by calming our nerves, creating more mind space  & essentially learning how to respond rather than react. 

Remaining Open to Change/Tuning in to Oneself
Change is good & while it can seem scary at the time, it's typically necessary & usually proves to be a moment of growth. As you develop your yoga practice, you will notice your mind/body changing, for the better. Remain open to the changes & continue tuning into yourself to develop this growth.

Non-attachment/ Non-judgement
When we focus on our breath, we allow any thoughts that arise to come and go without judgement or attachment. We don't hold onto these thoughts, we simply allow them to come in & go right back out without paying them any attention. While it's difficult to completely shut 'off' the mind, when we allow them to come and go without judgement or attachment, we can more easily bring focus to our practice, our breath, our alignment. 

Stability, Flexibility, Balance
When we use our breath to bring focus to our mind/body & move with intention we build a solid base for our practice. Creating a solid base welcomes balance, ultimately developing stability & opening up our bodies for flexibility. This focus provides stability, flexibility & balance throughout our daily lives, no matter what we're doing. (ex: stability in our relationships, flexibility in our open mindedness, balance in our work/life.)

Calming the Chitta Vritti
When we focus on the 4 corners of our own mat, n.o.t.h.i.n.g. e.l.s.e. m.a.t.t.e.r.s. It doesn't matter what the person next to you is doing & it REALLY doesn't matter what the chittra vritti - or mind chatter - is doing in your own mind. When we bring in thoughts/worries from our daily lives into our yoga space, it's actually pretty amazing how they seemingly disappear from reality. Even if it's just for those 45-60 minutes on your mat. How mindblowing is it that WE are in control of it and can naturally calm ourselves as needed?