Yoga has been a part of my daily life for close to a year now and has taught me many things. I shared some of those things a few months ago with my article 5 Life Changing Things Yoga Has Taught Me, but today I want to share with you how making yoga part of my daily life has transformed my body physically.

5 Ways Yoga Has Transformed My Physical Body

1. Posture
Being taller than average, especially growing up, I tended towards slouching. I am not always comfortable standing out in a crowd, so being taller than the girls and many of the guys sometimes drew unwanted attention my way. That combined with the sway back of pregnancy a few years ago and my posture really suffered. Yoga is all about alignment and finding space, space in between your vertebrae especially and through my practice, I think I have gotten taller! My posture is very much improved and I feel like my body has a lanky and long quality to it. Oh and yoga has taught me to be more comfortable in my own skin, so even though I feel taller, I am comfortable.

2.Back Pain
In my article 5 Life Changing Things Yoga Has Taught Me I talked about the sometimes-debilitating back pain I suffered from after child birth. It was so bad in the months after my daughter was born, I feared her getting bigger because I didn’t know how I would carry her as she got heavier. My back is not 100%, I am not sure it ever will be, but I am happy to say it doesn’t keep me from enjoying my life as a mom of an active toddler nor does it keep me from doing things I enjoy as it once did!

3. Physical Strength
I attribute the end of my back pain to the deep core work that happens when you do yoga. Since yoga is so focused on alignment, the other side of that is that your core is automatically engaged and stays engaged the entire time. Keeping your core steady is one of the main fundamental lessons of yoga, and from that your center is nice and strong. The thing I love about it, is that it is something that just happens when you do yoga. I haven’t cared a fig about crunches in a long time!

4.Balance
Another fundamental part of yoga is in balance. Keeping your core engaged and focusing on your alignment as you move through your asanas ensures that balance is kept. I have always considered myself a klutz, but I think the combination of focusing on balance and alignment has actually cured my klutziness for the most part!

5.Tree Trunk Legs
I have always loved my legs with yoga that love is ten-fold. They are stronger and more muscular than they have ever been, even when I was weight lifting. My legs make me feel rooted to the ground and the earth below me. They make me feel strong and steady, like a tree that sways in the wind but is hard to blow over.

Namaste