Don’t see any “intro” threads but thought I’d serve one up anyway.
Hi, I’m Nev.
I’ve been practicing yoga continuously for almost a year now. Average 3+ times a week. I’m 48. A guy. It’s been phenomenal. I’m hooked.
I’ve always been active my whole life. Last 10 years or so that has primarily included a lot of cycling: mountain biking and road biking. But I wasn’t feeling “connected” to my body. I thought yoga would answer that, and it has. I look better, feel better, sit up and walk straighter. I can’t imagine yoga not being an essential part of my life until I die. Physically, it’s been wonderful. It perfectly feeds my desire for physical activity. Has made me stronger, and improved my performance in my other activities. Especially cycling, most obviously in terms of endurance. There’s a night and day difference between how I feel at the end of a long ride or race.
I’m 100% atheist. I don’t have any beliefs of any spiritual or other supreme being as any part of the universe or influence in our lives. When we die, nothing comes next. In fact, I believe those beliefs are not productive or conducive to human peace and co-existence between peoples or cultures. The track record of all religions and theist/deist belief systems are not convincing. I don’t mean to be provocative or confrontational with this, but simply sharing, just being honest, I guess, that I do not connect with or accept the broader spiritual aspect of yoga that I understand is part of it’s history. But I do spread, in my own life, all the joy and greatness of yoga that I derive from it on many levels.
I do believe there’s a yoga connection to individual consciousness, awareness of self. Then inward-lookingness that it fosters. I have benefited greatly with this. The breathing. The calming. I need to learn and have further to go with the meditative aspects of yoga. I have a very busy hectic mind and imagination. I’ve come a very long way in the year I’ve been practicing. I look forward to further self growth, strength and knowledge in this area.
Anyhow. That’s probably enough for now. I’ll really try to be active here. As I said, yoga is essential to my living now. In body and mind. Happy to have found a place to talk about it. Share thoughts and ideas. I still have a lot to learn, and things that I would like to ask and talk about.
Thanks,
Nev