My Inner Yoga Bird

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Tara's Hobby Updated

Discovering My Hobby

I have never really thought of myself having a particular hobby. When I think of the

different types of hobbies that people take up, I think of baseball card or comic book

collections, sewing, knitting, painting, and anything artistic. When asked to write a

reflection on the hobby of my choice, I felt a little confused by whether or not I had a

hobby. The first place I went to was the internet to look up the definition of the word

hobby. Merriam-Webster’s

dictionary defines the word hobby

as “a pursuit outside one’s regular

occupation engaged in especially

for relaxation.” I immediately had

an “aha moment” after reading the meaning of the word and realized that I do have

hobbies! All this time I have been entertaining one of my leisure activities, not being

aware that it is a hobby.

Yoga in My Life

Yoga has always been a part of my life in one way or another. There have been plenty of

breaks where it has not been in my life, but I always seem to come back to it, especially

during times of high stress and when I crave balance with-in myself. My Mother

practiced yoga to some degree when she was pregnant with me. Practicing and

A hobby is “a pursuit outside one’s regular

occupation engaged in especially for

relaxation.”

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

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developing breath work can help assist during labor, where deep rhythmic

breathing is very important during the delivery process. I also remember

doing yoga when I was a child. I had found an illustrated book of different yoga

poses, which at the time I did not realize that the drawings were actually part of a yoga

series. I remember how much more flexible I was back then and the poses (asana) came

naturally to me. However, somewhere between childhood and early adulthood, my inner

yoga bird flew away for a long while and eventually migrated back

to me when I experienced a difficult time around the age of 25. The

little yoga bird landed on my shoulder and tweeted in my ear

telling me to try yoga to see if it would help with the deep anxiety I was experiencing. I

started practicing yoga using an at home DVD and I soon began to notice a difference in

how my body was feeling. It also helped ease some of the anxiety. Learning how to

connect my breath with movement and synchronizing both to create space and better

circulation throughout my body had a very positive impact. I was consistent with my

yoga practice for about a year or so until my yoga bird flew away again.

My Inner Yoga Bird

After much resistance, the little bird found me again about four months ago when I was

in desperate need for balance and physical pain relief. For about eight months prior,

that little birdy sang it’s little yoga tune in the back of my head, singing and

gently reminding me to try a class called Yin Yoga. Yin Yoga is a type of

restorative yoga that involves gentle, yet deep stretching using breath

work to help release tension, oxygenate the blood flow, and lubricate

the joints. I finally surrendered to the resistance that was holding me

YOGA HELPED

EASE MY

ANXIETY

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back from attending the class. It has been the greatest gift I have given

myself in a long time. I found being in class with an experienced yoga guide

was a supportive and safe environment to work on restoring my energy and help

release some of the pain and tension that my body has been holding onto. I am full of

gratitude that I am able to participate in this deeply rewarding hobby. Even if my inner

yoga bird flies away again, I know it will always come back when the season calls for it.

For now, I will continue to practice yoga and make this hobby a priority in my life.

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Improvements Made to Document

Added Graphic/Clip Art to Heading

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Inserted text box on page 1 with quote from writing

Inserted text box on page 2

Inserted Clip Art on pages 2 and 3

Adjusted Spacing between sub-headings and paragraphs

Removed the indents

Defined new bullet for the list of improvements

Spiritual

My Inner Yoga Bird