Power Yoga

I think one of the things that really kicked off my yoga journey was the book "Power Yoga" by Ulrica Norberg.  A family member purchased this for me for Christmas and it was my first opportunity to dive past poses and exercise and into the mindset and history of yoga.  I had no idea there were different types of yoga.  I had no idea the mind was a huge part of your yoga practice.  I just thought I was stretching and doing some workouts.  None of the rest had ever been presented to me.  After reading a few pages of this book I realized there was a lot I was about to learn so I stopped and grabbed my highlighter and sticky notes.  Yep.  I'm a nerd.  No lie.

I am so glad that I did though.  I learned so much from this book and when I was done I had a million more questions.  I wanted to know everything I could about yoga.  Of course this book focuses on Power Yoga, but it opened my mind and it opened the door.

One of the best things this book did was show me that yoga was a way to calm and focus my mind.  In the book the author states, "practicing yoga is seen as an attempt to focus the mind on one point--without distraction or interruption--in order to calm and stabilize the wild monkey." The wild monkey definitely described my mind and the intense stress I felt.  My mind was constantly jumping from problem to problem and I had trouble focusing on anything.  I couldn't sit still because I felt like I had so much going on and so much on my mind.  This description struck a cord and I wondered how much yoga could really help me conquer my mind.

Another huge thing I took away from it is to pay attention to my thoughts.  As the author pointed out, "what kind of thoughts do I have about myself? What am I saying to myself?  Am I really that bad?  Would I ever say to other people what I say to myself?"  This was mind boggling for me because I have always been very hard on myself.  What got me is the last question, "Would I ever say to other people what I say to myself?"  The answer was no.  I would never treat other people the way I treat myself, so why in the world was I doing it?

The book also introduced me to concepts I would hear and learn more about like drishti, ujjayi breathing, ahimsa, and so much more.  It was a great introduction to yoga concepts and it introduced sun salutations and basic poses with clear pictures and modifications for beginners.  If you are looking for a resource to dip into, I highly recommend Power Yoga by Ulrica Norberg.