Twisting the Body, Untwisting the Mind

There's something about twisting yourself into a pretzel that is just so relaxing to me. I know that's weird, but for me, it's like wringing out all of the things you just can't control, getting all of that toxic energy out, and just letting it go.

I didn't always feel that way. I thought yoga was some new-age fad that would go away eventually, and scoffed when friends would mention it to me to help my migraines. My thought was "How could standing on your head help the pain?" It held no value to me.

Obviously, I changed my mind. I began doing yoga via Fit TV about four years ago, and my headaches started to be less frequent and intense. I felt better mentally, and lost some weight(combined with a pretty strict vegetarian diet). Once I started graduate school, though, all exercise went by the wayside while I worked on papers, engaged in a long distance relationship, and worked full time. Once I finished school and began moving to Greenwood, the first thing I wanted to do was find a gym that offered yoga. Fortunately, that gym was less than a mile from the house, and minus my 10 day hiatus for my knee, I have gone at least twice, if not three times a week, for hour long classes.

I feel refreshed, grounded, and energized after that time. I have a hard time shutting the rest of the world out, because my mind is usually going in 30 different directions during the day. But for that hour, my cell phone is either at home or in my car, and all I need to concentrate on is my breathing and my focus to stay balanced. It's total "me" time. I may have a little bit of a Type A personality, and feel the need to be in control of everything around me.

Personally, yoga helps me keep that in check, and helps me put things in perspective. I have found it to be a great coping mechanism, one of which I will be using to help me during the wedding planning, and it also helps me medicinally. I believe that it helps me stay balanced mentally, which in turn helps me stay physically well. As odd as this sounds from a mental health professional, I think medications are overused. I stress this to my clients. I know that some people need to be on medication for severe issues, I used to be one of those people, which is why I may try any homeopathic route before taking medication. I think if people actually listened to their body, they would feel better. Kind of a "your body is a temple, treat it well" adage.

What about you? What are your coping mechanisms? Healthy or unhealthy? Let me know!