I was scrolling through Instagram one day, and saw a friend posted herself touching the floor with her palms flat. I have been doing yoga for quite some time, but I could barely touch the floor. So I thought, why not take proper training, maybe I would learn something new. And I hired a trainer the next day.

At the beginning - god would I feel exhausted! I had to sleep much more than usual, and the exercises felt quite tiring. I would check the weighing scale daily - not much difference. After 3 weeks I still found most exercises difficult. I didn’t see progress the way I dreamt of. But I wanted to do this - I really did.

And so I kept at it, training daily for an hour - 5 days a week. I listened to my doctor and started eating healthy. Cut down on weekly feasts of chocolate waffles and cheese pizzas.

After 2 months, 1 hour didn’t feel difficult. I could sleep the same number of hours, and be more productive. I did not see much difference on the weighing scale but my family noticed I looked better. I still had stiff hamstrings, not much strength but exercising for an hour felt normal now.

And yet, I felt I want more. So I switched my instructor, and have been learning with her for more than an year.

She was quite strict, to the extent I suspected that she found my struggle amusing. But my gut told me to trust her and I just followed her cue. She would make me hold stretches for 30 second stretches, asking me to breathe in and out and mentally reassure myself that this is normal. It was actually a live experience of mind-body connection for me.

And, now, an year after - I can touch the floor with my knees straight, palms fully resting on the ground, increased my time for plank holds from 30 seconds, to 2 minutes. Started from not being able to do a single squat well, to doing 50 in a row. I recently did the forward split :).

My weight has still not decreased but my strength and flexibility has improved. There are days when I don’t feel like taking the session, but I go for it anyways, and surprise myself by how much I can do, much more than what my mind had anticipated.

I don’t see the weighing scale much now - but I love my body much more than before, for I appreciate how much it has helped me achieve.

Yoga in itself did help me improve my physical strength a lot. But, showing up to sessions whether you feel like it or not, surprising yourself with what you can do beyond your mental block, doing the same pose every day wobbly and wondering how someone ever even thought of this but noticing gradual improvements - and realizing you finally did it correctly - these experiences bring self-confidence and pride.

I see I have a lot to learn in this field. From learning new poses, to holding a single pose for longer amounts of time, there is no limit to what one can achieve. I was a person who always studied for competitive exams, aimed for getting the best grade in the current college semester. I learnt how to enjoy the journey, aiming for perfection through consistency, with an open heart only for myself.

Taking your leave with the quote:

“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.”

Happy Day!