Yoga Gives me the Presence of Mind to be at Peace with Chocolate

That was the heading on a note pad my aunt gave me one year. Simple, humorous, silly, yet it resonated with me!

As I see it, the meaning is two fold.

First off, a yoga practice strives to provide balance; achieving balance in your asanas, or poses, and achieving a sense of balance within your self. The goal of a complete yoga practice is to unite the mind, body, and spirit. During class, the mind is a little more settled thanks to structured breathing and focus, the body benefits from a stretching, reaching, and unfolding from our usual daily tense muscles. The soul is encouraged to find peace, no matter how simple or slight.

So this balance spills out from the studio, and into your life. Balance in asanas, balance  in mind and mood, and also balance in the consumption of chocolate! Once you have established your practice, you are more in tune with yourself. You are more aware of the balance YOU need to feel good. Does the drop in your mood after you’ve eaten the chocolate make you feel guilty and anxious? Maybe it’s time to find a different way of spending your energy. Or does coming to class make you feel like you’ve done a good job, ‘earning’ that extra dark square of chocolate? Being aware of the balance that you need helps you to find ways to maintain that balance.

Second, an established yoga practice gives you a little more leeway to eat your chocolate! Because sometimes, a soul just needs some junk food! And those hot vinyasa classes? They annihilate the extra calories anyways.