Yoga for Tomorrow

Most people ask me why I do yoga, and while my answer varies, at the core, it's about the benefits that come after the practice. I do yoga today for the mental clarity and problem-solving benefits I experience tomorrow.

The day after a yoga session, I experience a longer phase of deep sleep, allowing for brain detoxing and a clearer, refreshed perspective for helping me solve problems. It also trains my brain and body how to deal with stress. Practicing boxed breathing (inhale for five counts, exhale for six counts, hold for four counts at the top and bottom) helps me deal with stressful situations, using boxed breathing to reduce anxiety within my nervous system. I practice boxed breathing in tadasana (mountain pose or standing at attention) or seated (criss-cross, apple sauce).

Reverse namaste with half lotus pose. Photo by Jodi Norberg

For me, yoga is the connection between my spiritual awakening and my awareness of my physical body. When the two intersect, they create a sense of wholeness that can only come with constant stretching and opening. Yes, there's strength, but this comes when the body's channels are open to distribute energy evenly throughout the chakra line. The line runs vertically from root to crown, being the conduit from earth to space, and is associated with various colors of the universe. The body is the medium to transfer this energy, organically.

Yoga is a lifelong practice, and while some practitioners find the mind-body connection instantly, others may take years. Knowing when this happens, how it happens, or if it even happens at all, depends on the body. In my case, I noticed it years after I started practicing. There's no formula, pose, or secret; all it takes is time. Time devoted to daily practice and time for yourself on your mat (or grass or anywhere you find comfortable) to flow through a short or long practice. And like anything with the body, breaks are also essential. When life takes over and I can't make it to my mat, let's say one or two days, I find that my practice is stronger and my muscles more flexible. When traveling, I don't get the opportunity to practice, and after two weeks off my mat, returning feels like I'm starting over.

When the practice of yoga is constant, the flow remains in motion, increasing the circulation and movement of blood and energy. When blood circulates easily throughout the body, it allows the body to heal itself and regenerate cells naturally. Blood is life, and when practicing poses that compress, invert, or release, the flow is cut, released, or reversed, allowing veins to receive a new flow of oxygenated blood to the limbs and brain.

Mental clarity also comes with what is called a moving meditation. Traditionally, when practicing vinyasa or flow yoga, each movement is inspired by each inhale or exhale. For example, my favorite pose is warrior two. I usually get into the pose by inhaling into a downward-facing dog (upside down V), exhaling as I lift one leg into a three-legged dog, inhaling into a lunge, and so on. This is known as a moving meditation where the focus should only be on connecting a breath with a motion; it's not as easy as it sounds and takes practice to keep up with the instructor. Moving breath with motion, focusing mainly on the breath and holding poses with intention, creates a mental break from the madness that can be life.

What I find beautiful about yoga is how ancient spiritual wisdom aligns with modern scientific understanding. When I talk about chakras and energy flow, I also describe what science calls the nervous system, blood circulation, and neuroplasticity. The "energy" moving through my body during practice is measurably real: oxygen, endorphins, and electrical impulses traveling through neural pathways. My spiritual awakening isn't separate from the physical changes in my brain; studies show that yoga rewires neural connections, reduces cortisol levels, and activates the parasympathetic nervous system. Whether you call it prana or simply improved circulation, or see it as opening chakras or releasing tension in fascia, the experience and benefits remain the same. This is why yoga works for skeptics and believers alike; you don't need to embrace the spiritual language to feel the very real, measurable changes in your body and mind.

Namaste (the light and energy in me, sees and recognizes the light and energy in you)