If Only

Beatific mamas-to-be are filling my Instagram feed and glowing youthful newbies are sharing my classes at the moment.

I’ve noticed the former as I lug my waaaaaay past pregnancy bod around and the latter as they place their pristine new mats down next to mine. And I can’t help thinking that if I’d only had yoga in my life earlier I too might have found grace and confidence at those times when it was all about hyperemesis and zero self knowledge.

On a happier note there was a lot more sleep.

For reference, and because I really like making lists, I’ve noted down some specific times when a yoga practice would have made all the difference in my world:

• At some point of my pregnancy I would’ve loved to reap the benefits of both a restorative and gentle flow. I love seeing women respond to what their bodies need as their bellies expand and they adjust their practice accordingly. Stunning.
• And then with a newborn, let’s say the first couple of years, to get time to breathe, to reflect, to be still (or, let’s be honest, flake out in savasana). It should be a law.
• Three weeks before my wedding. Nuff said.
• During my own teenage years, although I probably would’ve been wearing a Victorian swimsuit rather than a bra top. The security of a safe space at a turbulent time makes me want to gift my 15-year-old self a studio membership and a subscription to Cosmo. Clear skin, shoulders back and an opportunity to grow some logic could have lessened some serious emotional baggage.
• The travelling years. A home away from home on the mat. Less tears, for sure.
• That time at Uni when I used to write essays throughout the night bent over my word processor and then spend the next day just bent over because I couldn’t straighten up.
• During grief. During heartbreak.
• Or all those other times …

I’m not going to dwell on what might have been though; after all I like to think yoga came into my life at exactly the right time for me. Because who wouldn’t want to experience the joys of 15 hunched over with folded arms and a bad attitude?

It’s just all the sweeter now.

– Jane

What about you? Do you ever wish you’d had a yoga practice during different periods of your life?

© The Yoga Connection 2015