More Than Movement: Why I Practice Yoga

This past weekend I was visiting with some friends who have been going through recent loss and trauma. My friend Elena turned to me and asked, “Renee, what do you do when you feel shaken to your core?”  I thought for a moment about all the hard times I’ve navigated since my 20’s and answered, “I do yoga.” I have found conscious movement and breathing–experienced through mindfulness practices like yoga, qigong and authentic dance–have had a profound effect on my emotional well-being and have helped me to feel in order to heal … more than anything else.

My physician and nurse parents were yogis and introduced my siblings and I to this health practice at a very early age. For years in my mid-late 20s I did yoga once a week at a studio, enjoying the health and stress management benefits. But as I got older, I began to embrace the more subtle gifts that come from this ancient practice which has now become mainstream (34%–about 80 million–of Americans say they are somewhat or very likely to practice yoga in the next 12 months).

Why would a busy entrepreneur with a global business carve out time each day for downward dogs? At age 60, I have experienced tremendous benefits from yoga–which means to yoke or unite–but what keeps me coming back to the mat time and time again is because this practice:

• helps me feel more spacious on the inside. Saturday a.m. I got into an argument with my husband, but after my hatha class and an hour of deep belly breathing, I returned to my family more centered, relaxed and the “triggered feeling” was gone. Yoga allows me to more easily be with what is.

• reminds me that my problems aren’t mountains, they’re molehills. After practicing, I reclaim a 30,000 foot perspective which supports me in being more aware, compassionate and clear.

• uncorks my well of creativity and helps me remember who I am. This blog post pretty much wrote itself in the last moments of my yoga practice. Many of my best ideas-and all my books-have come to me effortlessly while I’m holding pigeon or in triangle pose.

I could go on and on about the gifts that I have received from a regular yoga practice—a happier disposition, a kinder relationship with my sweet body, an openness to inquiry and an abiding curiosity—but more than anything, when I do yoga I remember who I really am and that everything is perfect just as it is.

I challenge you to try a class or do more yoga (ideally at a yoga studio as opposed to the gym-they’re different, I promise). If you already like yoga, increase your frequency, create a home practice or try another form and do it differently (I love it all: Kundalini, Hatha, Vinyasa, Yin or Restorative and iRest, one of my favorites and the practice I’m trained in). Here’s an explanation of the different types of yoga; also Yoga With Adriene has some really good free 20-minute yoga videos sorted by theme. Totally new to yoga? Here’s a great overview for beginners. Namaste to all.

Warmly ~ 

WANT SUPPORT FOR FINDING BALANCE? HERE ARE FOUR OPPORTUNITIES: 

• Want to offer new ways to help your employees or organization feel more creative, focused and energized? For more than 25 years I’ve been designing multi-dimensional work-life alignment workshops, keynotes, and retreats for groups around the globe. Learn more.
• Can’t join me in-person? Download your self-guided retreat today! Ready to prioritize your self-care, relax your body and enjoy empowering mentoring from Renee 24/7 from the comfort of your home, car or office? Our highly popular self-paced online retreats are only $59. Download & enjoy today. Learn more. 
• Are you feeling called to facilitate women’s groups/retreats? Check out Secrets to Facilitating Life-Changing Women’s Groups/Retreats ~ an online, self-paced training & mentoring course. Only $195. Learn more/enroll here.
• Live in the Southeast or near North Carolina? Join me in the NC Blue Ridge Mountains for a Wild Souls Adventure: authentic movement classes, community song circles, full moon hikes, meditation/resiliency workshops, women’s circles & more or have me design a custom experience/ritual for your team/friends: learn more. Join us at a public Wild Souls Authentic Movement class Sunday morning in Brevard, NC; learn more here. 

Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by transformational coach/author/speaker and self-care evangelist Renée Peterson Trudeau. Passionate about helping men and women live more intentionally and find balance through the art/science of self-care, Renee has been facilitating high-impact, interactive workshops for Fortune 500 companies, national nonprofits/conferences and organizations/teams worldwide for 25 years. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Fast Company, Good Housekeeping, US News & World Report, AARP, Spirituality & Health and more. She and her team have certified more than 450 facilitators in 10 countries around the globe to lead self-renewal groups/retreats based on her pioneering self-care curriculum. She’s the author of several books on life balance including the award-winning The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life. Renee and her husband live in Western North Carolina and they have one son in New York City. Her latest venture is Wild Souls Nature Adventures. More on Renee here.