Yoga, Breathing, and Baggage

I can't remember the last time I was able to take a full deep breath. It may have been two years, five years, ten years but since deciding I would run a 5k in 2013 breathing has been on the top of my list of things to improve.

When I think of improving my breath I always think of Yoga, not the kind I have actually done but the kind of Yoga my Aunt did when I was a kid. Slow yoga, holding poses, using the breath to guide the practice with a nice meditation to follow. Yoga for meditation that is what I need. 

My husband had to work in Daytona this past week and invited me along to get a healthy dose of Vitamin D, so while I was planning my free time yoga was a no-brainer. I found a yoga studio (Yoga With Grace) within walking distance of my hotel and booked an appointment for a private session. When I walked in I knew I had found the right place for me. A nice buddha watching over things, the smell of incense in the air, I felt warm and welcomed on a level I couldn't explain with words. I spent two hours in the care of Grace learning poses, doing breathing exercises, and opening up my chest. The lovely and intuitive Grace taught me some wonderful pranayamas (breathing exercises) and some new poses but the most important thing she taught me was that I held my stress (my baggage, my issues, etc.) in my chest and that some of the baggage I was clinging to was really, really old and I might want to let it go if I wanted to breath deeply again. I had been working through some old baggage lately and I knew exactly what she was talking about (cue the theme from Twilight Zone). Who knew when I signed up for yoga I would end up in therapy? But at the end of the day isn't the purpose of yoga to facilitate the awareness of your deeper nature?

After two hours I was able to take a breath in a way I hadn't in years. It was a miracle, or maybe it was just yoga...

I am looking to find a teacher in my area because I think a certified instructor is the best way to learn and deepen a practice (and avoid injury at my age) but I am not having good luck. I have, however, found some great on-line tools to keep me going while I search and I thought I would share.

Kripalu offers on-line classes and some great retreats
YogaGlo offers on-line classes from beginner to advanced
Seane Corn offers Vinyassa Flow classes on her website (she is my sister's favorite)
Gaiam TV offers all their yoga and other exercise videos on-line and you can join for 10 days for FREE!

As always, I would love to hear your experiences with yoga and if you have any suggestion for me!

All my best,

Linda