Yoga like mine

I started yoga years ago, it’s a practice I take breaks from but always find myself coming back to. At first I used it for my constant back pain, picked it up again in college for pure enjoyment, third time around was for the depression and anxiety. This last phase was ignited once again by the depression. After practicing yoga for a couple months in how I was originally taught, I decided to try something different inspired by one of my favorite yoga teachers. During our practice she would turn on an amazing playlist. It wasn’t the traditional soothing yet energetic instrumental songs most play during yoga. Some songs were sweet, melancholic, energizing, uplifting but still had a mellow melodies to them. It helped with concentration and it tapped into my emotions, checking in on things I’ve been holding on to or truly feeling but hiding/ignoring. So when it was time to leave town, I had memorized the flow of the practice and had also started a playlist of my own with similar melodies if not more melancholic. These days I am still very much in need of yoga  that calms and centers me, but I am a person who needs to physically exert my stress and frustrations through high intensity activities. After accidentally adding a Run the Jewels song into my usual yoga playlist and it coming on during my practice I just continued with it. My pace became faster, I began to change my sequences to more challenging poses, my breaths deeper and I loved it. Yoga had made me feel strong and healthy but ever since I’ve made another playlist with less conventional yoga music I have felt more empowered. –Bella