“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given to you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions” Rainer … Maria Rilke
Patience is essential in working toward any goal in life. We live in a society that expects to see results right away, and when we don’t we give up and never achieve our goal. We are constantly bombarded with TV ads about achieving results quickly and with little effort, and this is the main reason why many fail. There is a process and it requires patience, hard work, and allowing the necessary time to pass to be successful. Let me tell you about my process of being successful incorporating yoga into my life.
About two years ago I started doing Yoga. I had tried it a couple times before and found it boring, but I had friends who swore by it and I wanted to see what it was all about. I told myself I was going to do it every day for a month. My first two weeks were miserable. I had been a competitive cyclist for 7 years, ridding between 100 to 200 miles a week and my muscles were tight. The yoga poses challenged my body in ways I had never experienced, and my muscles were screaming, but I had yoga committed to a month and I was going to finish the month. I ended adjusting my goal to 5-6 days a week, because my body was so sore and wasn’t going to risk injury. (It’s about health, not being hurt)
Now after about two weeks my body slowly started to adapt. I wasn’t seeing any visible results but it was feeling pretty good. After four weeks, I decided it was feeling good and extended my goal to 90 days. My body was still screaming, but I was mentally and physically feeling amazing after every class. I had gained a little bit of flexibility and I felt a little stronger, but my still hadn’t changed much. It just felt good.
Somewhere around three month is when I started to notice my body changing. I was more flexible than I could remember, my body was getting very strong, and my muscles were longer and leaner. That’s just the external benefits of yoga. The mental part of yoga is the most amazing part, which I’m not going to tell you about, because your experience would different form mine, and it’s something you have to experience for yourself, but I’ll tell you its awesome.
I have now been doing Yoga 3-4 times a week for two years, and I look forward to every class. My body bends in ways I would have never dreamed possible, and have become very physically strong. When I first started Yoga a couple years ago, I would have never imagined loving it the way I do. In my past I’ve experienced similar things lifting weights, running, and cycling, and they all have played a part in my experience of yoga. The best part is I am still a beginner, and have lots to learn and experience.
I have incorporated Yoga into my lifestyle by being patient and persistent. When I first started it hurt and I was not enjoying it, but I stayed with it. Today it’s one of my favorite things to do. It would have been easy to quit, but I had a goal of doing it for 30 days, and now I see myself doing it for the rest of my life. When you decide to start an exercise program or create a healthy lifestyle, set a goal and be patience as you work toward the goal. It may turn into something you love to do for the rest of your life, or it may play an important role to creating something amazing in your life.
Be patience…Enjoy the Journey!!! 🙂
Chris