108 Ways Yoga Can Change Your Life

Check out this list of 108 ways yoga can change your life.

1. It kicks you out of your comfort zone. As a newbie on the mat, even the most basic asanas may be a struggle. There’s nothing like teetering in Tree Pose or twisting in Triangle with a group of strangers watching — it kind of feels like slipping on an ice patch in public. But, hey, it’s cool.

2. It’s mind bending. You never thought you’d think like a yogi, and then you become one.

3. You fall in love with your body — or at least gain a healthy respect for it. One day you’ll be cursing your too-thick thighs, and the next you’ll be glad for every limb and the way your body supports you as you move through your practice.

4. You become fearless. As you move from the basic asanas to more complicated arm balances and such, you lose the fear of falling, and that transfers into other areas of life.

5. You gain confidence. Mastering the asanas you thought were beyond you makes you more than a conqueror; it makes you a yoga god/goddess!

6. You learn to quiet your mind. Even the most chaotic minds can find their yogic serenity when they step into a studio or onto their mat.

7. You learn the lingo. Before your yoga days, you didn’t know your ass from an asana. But once you get involved, you learn a whole new language, and a new way of living, too. But that last part is going somewhere else on this list.

8. You become a corpse. By that I mean, you learn to lie still in Savasana, where being numb to the world is where it’s at.

9. You learn to listen to your body, to notice every sensation, and to honor the journey it’s taking you on.

10. You connect with your breath. We don’t often think about our breathing, and how it directs the body, until yoga awakens our awareness.

11. You master your breath. Once you begin step 10, you can move on to mastering the breath and cleansing your body with intentional breathing that detoxifies and cleanses your body and mind.

12. You stand taller. As a result of your newfound confidence, spine-lengthening asanas, and better posture too.

13. You lose your hamster wheel, and start taking life at your own pace.

14. You stop making comparisons…because you realize you’re uniquely awesome.

15. Your flaws become quirks. Yes, you know you’re not perfect, but yoga is not about perfection.

16. You feel amazing in your own skin…because warrior pose becomes a way of life.

17. You see things. You’re sipping chai and noticing the intricacies in everything. When you develop an eye for alignment, you become accustomed to really seeing things.

18. You become an adventurer. Your new vision makes you a curious traveler within your world.

19. You lose control — of your body. That is, you start doing yoga all over the place: foward fold in the grocery store, High Lunge in your hallway. It feels so good to bend and pose, you do it everywhere!

20. You impress your boss (not by wearing yoga pants to the office). Your yoga focus helps you work faster and breeze through your work day.

21. Your sex life sizzles. You’re physically stronger, more toned, tight, and in touch with your body.

22. You discover your pelvic floor. And you learn to engage and lock those muscles, which are integral in orgasm and translate to better sex.

23. You spend more time in the bedroom. See above.

24. Your cupboards get cleaner. Because you respect your body, you’re eating more mindfully, and tossing out the potato chips, fruity hoops, and cheesy doodles.

25. You embrace Life as it is.

 26. You change your email signature from Sincerely to Namaste.

27. You drop the urge to change everything.

28. You respect people’s differences.

29. You honor and even explore other religions and ideas that are foreign to you.

30. You amass a collection of yoga paraphernalia.

31. You get keen on Kino MacGregor.

32. You start obsessively examining your form in full-length mirrors.

33. You become known for your yoga uniform.

34. You become more charitable. Because trinkets don’t matter much anymore.

35. You stop keeping up with the Kardashians. Because who really cares?

36. You discover a new genre of books. You start reading Light on Yoga and yoga-inspired content.

37. You become more “holy.” As in, you get pierced.

38. Lotus becomes your new favorite flower.

39. You become a yoga studio spy in your search for new places to practice.

40. You start Googling yoga terms like chakra and drishti.

41. You start speaking Sankrit, as in Ashtanga, and Kundalini.

42. Your taste in music changes. As you add yoga/pilates hits to your playlist.

43. You no longer find the word guru silly or strange.

44. You require more breaks from your desk. As sitting too long makes your spine feel compressed.

45. You spend less time sleeping; more time exploring your world.

46. You develop daily rituals, inspired by ayurveda.

47. You start using the hashtag #yogalover after all your tweets.

48. You subscribe to yoga videos and start hand-standing in your hallway.

49. You go green because it just feels good.

50. You stop mocking vegans.

51. You become a vegan…or at the very least, make friends with some meat-free folk.

52. You stop wearing socks at home so you can hop on the mat when the mood strikes.

53. You start hopping on the mat when the mood strikes. You do yoga intermittently, throughout the day.

54. You sleep more soundly.

55. You learn how to meditate. Without getting up 16 times to do small tasks such as emptying the dryer, or checking your phone.

56. You start collecting zen quotes.

57. You begin reciting Rumi in random conversations.

58. You stop gossiping with your old crew.

59. You acquire a tribe of new friends who are as fit and fun as you want to be.

60. You start making plans to visit India.

61. You rewrite your bucket list. Adding more languages, travel destinations, and over-the-top adventure.

62. You invest in a meditation cushion.

63. You obtain a yoga pass to your favorite studio.

64. You cancel your cable television and forget all about The Walking Dead.

65. You gain a green thumb as you begin gardening.

66. You trade diet cola for kombucha.

67. You stop using sign language (the naughty finger) while driving in rush hour traffic.

68. You start walking more, inhaling nature, because it’s so damn inspiring.

69. You make bad hair dye decisions, because fuschia looked fabulous on your yogi friend.

70. You stop sweating your wardrobe, because you live in yoga pants.

71. You find parks in your area you never knew existed.

72. You start researching yoga retreats.

73. You see trees and start posing, rocks and start climbing.

 74. The whole world becomes playground.

75. You stop frequenting fast-food restaurants.

76. You start cooking more, and eating whole foods.

77. You become a yoga spokesperson. Attempting to convert your couch potato friends to yogis and yoginis.

78. You start being present in every moment.

79. You understand how your ego has caused you to suffer.

80. Your memory improves.

81. Your skin becomes more supple as your circulation increases.

82. You stop needing expensive foot creams and salves to de-crust your heels. See above.

83. Your spacial relation improves.

84. You no longer need walls for leaning. You strike Tree Pose instead.

85. You become less of a klutz as your balance increases.

86. You develop fewer bruises. See above.

87. You’re wide open to ayurveda. And because of that, you stop popping OTC drugs for headaches, common colds and minor aches and pains.

88. You start shopping at organic markets and frequenting produce stands.

89. You’re less navigationally challenged, because you’ve become more mindful.

90. You spend less time wandering aimlessly in parking lots, searching for your vehicle. See above.

91. You suddenly dig the water because the buoyancy makes it an ideal place to practice difficult yoga poses.

92. You become more social as your interest in people piques.

93. You become smarter as a result of your increased curiosity.

94. You start wearing less clothing. Because body shame is lame.

95. You notice your body lengthening, muscles become sleeker and more defined.

96. You become the annoying social media poster. The one who fills all the feeds with yogic quotes, videos, and tips for your friends.

97. You unearth the benefits of warm water and lemon and are healthier for it.

98. You stop using conventional furniture, and spend more time on the floor.

99. Lotus pose becomes possible. And totally comfortable.

100. Your friends call you the pretzel and other cute names.

101. Your compassion increases, and your household expands to include every stray animal you encounter.

102. Your friends call you cat lady/cat man. See above.

103. You begin to cherish  life like never before.

104. You stop stressing about the future and start living in the moment.

105. You start saying no more often, as a means of self-love.

106. You make time for yourself because you understand the value of introspection.

107. You stop feeling guilty for disappointing people, fully realizing you are only responsible for the energy you bring.

108. You become the best version of yourself. If you’re doing it right, yoga opens more than your hips; it opens your heart, and your whole world to the amazing possibilities.

Are you ready to rock the yoga life and reap these incredible benefits? Or maybe you’ve discovered them already. How has yoga changed your life? Share with us.

Why An Empty Stomach is Essential for Hatha Yoga Practice

You should not only be on an empty stomach – your bowels should be empty too. If you do Hatha Yoga, you must ensure to leave at least 10 or better 12 hours between your last meal and your practice. That way, you give enough time for digestion so that when you get up in the morning, the body will naturally purge. If you eat late at night and get up early, the digestion will not be complete.

In traditional Indian medicine, whether it is Ayurveda or Siddha, whatever health problem you have, first they will purge your colon. If you want to be healthy, it is essential that your colon is clean. The colon cannot be clean for people who eat certain types of foods, and who have the habit of eating in between too much. Especially dairy products and non-vegetarian food remain in the colon for long periods of time.

Anything that is not an actual part of your body should be out if you want to move your energies upward. Yogic practices are not exercises – they are methods to restructure your system. In a way, you are trying to recreate yourself by remolding your system the way you want it to be. For this to be done, there should be nothing but your body. The only thing that is okay to have is water.

Practicing yoga means beginning a partnership with the Creator. You cannot do it all yourself, but you can create the necessary atmosphere for the Creator to do the job. You want that which is the source of creation to become your willing partner. The first time you were made, it was not your choice – it was your parents and forefathers who decided how your body should be shaped, and how it should function. It happened from genetic memory. This is why in this culture, we refer to enlightened ones as dwijas or twice-born. Once born out of your mother’s womb – the way you were born was not your choice. But now you are reinventing and recreating yourself, step-by-step, the way you want yourself to be.

Your life will not change if you have a nose job done or if you get an implant in some part of your body. Your experience of life will change only if the very way your body functions energy-wise, the way it thinks, the way it feels, the way it responds to the universe around, can be altered. If you change your nose or you do some other kind of cosmetic procedure, how someone else looks at you may change. It may change the experience for the beholder, not for you. Your experience will only change depending on the extent to which your body is in line with the source of creation.

If you really look at creation, you will see everything smacks of phenomenal intelligence. If you pay enough attention to a simple leaf, you will know what kind of intelligence has gone into making this, and how many functions it has. In a way, a leaf is a plant’s energy source. The dream of today’s scientists is to create a leaf as a renewable energy source that could power your house, and even provide food and water for you. Scientists have been working on this cutting-edge technology for years. They are struggling so much to produce one leaf, because it is incredible how many things a leaf can do at the same time. Even in a single atom, phenomenal intelligence is involved – we are not able to really figure it out.

The nature of the Creator is intelligence. You may think you need love, money, wealth, or whatever else – no, you need a little more sense – no matter what your IQ is. How many times have you looked at people around you and thought, “I only wish they had a little more sense.” If not just your intellect but your intelligence doubled today, you would grasp everything so much more easily. What you would otherwise learn in fifty years, you could learn in five years.

Being partner with the source of creation means getting a huge infusion of intelligence, a kind of intelligence that you would not believe possible. For this to happen, obstacles need to be removed. This body is the work of the source of creation. The food that you have put into it is not yet part of the body, and the stool that you have produced is not part of it either. Therefore, your stomach and bowels should be empty. But if you are doing yoga for four, five hours continuously, it is all right to lace the water that you drink with a small spoon of honey. We want the water to be tepid because if you drink cold water, the body has to warm it up, which results in a loss of energy. If the water you drink is within three degrees above or below body temperature, the body treats it as part of itself.

Tepid water and honey are the only two substances that are allowed in your stomach, and nothing else. There must be only body – no other obstacle. Otherwise, the Creator will not have anything to do with you. The source of creation, the intelligence which functions within you, treats anything else as an external substance, which will not participate in your asana. The Creator or the source of creation must function and participate in your asana – only then does an asana become a yogasana. Otherwise, it is just a posture.

6 Ways to Relax on the Yoga Mat and Off

Often in a yoga class, the teacher might encourage you to “relax.”

You’ll be in a pose or particular part of the sequence that’s really hard, and then you hear that word. Really, this helpful suggestion is akin to your dentist’s request for you to relax while he’s drilling into your tooth.
Relax? How can you ever relax while doing something so challenging? Well, let’s see.

The Relaxation Trigger

Relaxing while doing something strenuous takes effort and can even be counterintuitive. Initially and then over time, it comes with greater ease. When we find this “muscle” in our brain and use it on command, we find greater ease in life overall.
Amazingly, controlled relaxation allows us to perform better. Ask any athlete, any CEO, doctor, fireman, or military personnel; the ability to relax in the face of stress is one of the keys to success.
So, how do we train this muscle and build this skill? Here are some ways to relax in a multitude of situations, on the mat or off.

1. Breathe.

Find a breathing technique that allows you to develop a rhythmic flow of breath. On a biological level, deep breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which controls relaxation. So it’s not just magic; it’s science.
In yoga there are many different styles of breathing techniques, or pranayama. While on the mat, we typically use a style called ujjayi breath in which we constrict the back of the throat on the exhale to make a whisper sound.
You wouldn’t use this particular style while running or at the office, but focusing on the breath and finding a rhythm are still key in these circumstances. Remember that breath and a consistent flow is at the heart of the matter for this technique.

2. Feel your feet.

One of my students is a cardiac surgeon. One day she shared that after a few months of consistent practice, she could really feel her feet at work. It helped her stay grounded when there was chaos all around.
“Feeling your feet” doesn’t mean bending over and touching your toes. Instead, root strongly into your legs and feet. This makes tremendous sense both on and off the mat. When we set a firm foundation, we show our body that we’re ready, committed, and present. These actions free up our mind and body, making room for relaxation.

3. Remove distractions.

Oh, the cell phones are everywhere these days—even on the yoga mat! I once had a student with flash cards at the front of her mat, studying while practicing. When our space is set up for distractions, there’s no way to relax. Whether it’s on our yoga mat, at our desk, or what we bring on a run, these actions all help or hinder the relaxation process.

4. Let go of attachment to results.

In our “work hard, get results” culture, letting go is difficult. The Buddhists call this “attachment,” and they say it’s one of the leading causes for suffering in our lives. Since suffering is at the heart of discontent and unhappiness, shaking the idea of being attached brings not only relaxation but also happiness! Sounds great!
This, however, is one of the hardest things to do. Just ask any golfer. Whether a weekend warrior or a professional, everyone misses as soon as the focus is to get the ball in the hole.
When you let go of your attachment to results, your focus is heightened and you relax. In many cases, that’s when you start to hit the right spot. If we can head into things for reasons of loving what we do, favorable results will arise more naturally.

5. Focus on one thing at a time.

In yoga postures, there’s a progression from entering the pose to discovering its full expression. The process is a part of the pose, and it affects how it looks in the end.
When we multi-task we can’t relax. The American Psychological Association reports “doing more than one task at a time, especially more than one complex task, takes a toll on productivity.”
To apply this in practice, avoid merely hearing “Downward Dog” and shoving our body into the pose. Instead, adopt a more mindful progression of setting up a base, feeling the primary action of the pose, and letting it unfold in a more natural way.

6. Stay in your own lane.

Imagine the new yoga student next to the practiced yogi. The new student tries to do everything the yogi does, but within a few minutes is exhausted and frustrated to boot.
Imagine the entrepreneur who is always distracted by what is happening in the industry and trying to create features and functionality that mimics what others are doing. It’d create stress and compete with relaxation for sure.

Find your zone. Stay in your lane. Have confidence that you’re on the right path.