When you hear about yoga, three (3) things might come to mind – first, that it’s a fitness routine; second, it’s a good way to meditate; and third, a lot of people are in it for the fad. It certainly offers a good balance between working out and relaxation, it’s a way of life that’s worth getting into – but one thing people don’t realize is that yoga actually helps develop the self. In fact, it is actually capable of helping you build self confidence. Do yoga the right way and not only are you going to find balance with yourself, you might be able to actually be at peace with who you are and be confident with what you’re capable of. Is this all true, though? In this article, you’ll get to discover how yoga can help you build self confidence.
If you’re wondering about looking at yoga “beyond” the “fad,” it might help to look at statistics. If the fact that yoga is actually a $2.5-billion industry isn’t enough to make you curious, a lot of people do report to have taken up yoga for wellness, a sense of calm, and for their health. Children practice it too, as 1.7-million American kids actually do yoga, and even 15-percent of practitioners actually go to yoga retreats.
It’s also important to look at self confidence as a concept, although it may help to understand how important self identity is to a person. Some people have conflicting ideas as to whether or not self confidence can be productive or destructive for a person, as too much or too less of things of things can indeed harm anyone. Perhaps more important is how feeling someone belongs in this world can be an integral part in helping them find who they are. Whereas low social status, loneliness, exclusion, and isolation can harm a person’s being, yoga can indeed help bring a sense of community, inclusion, and togetherness especially when done as groups. In what other ways could these concepts blend together?
Yoga And Self Confidence: How Does This Work?
When you talk of yoga and self confidence, you might think the two concepts don’t necessarily fit. Surprisingly, they are actually quite compatible with one another. Given the statistics above, even attending the Blooming Lotus Yoga retreats or just attending regular sessions in a yoga studio or at home can help achieve a lot of yoga’s perceived benefits. You can take this up a notch and actually help build your self confidence.
- Teach yourself how to breathe: A lot of people often tell others to “breathe” or “calm down” whenever they feel stressed, pressured, or out of reach with the world. However, this is much easier said than done. If you’re in the same position as someone who’s often agitated or anxious of themselves, yoga can actually help you to stay calmer by proper breathing exercise. Pigeon Pose and Child’s Pose are considered “safe” and protected poses that allow you to concentrate on your breaths. The poses are built to help you slowly find relaxation, and eventually calm your mind as well. The next time people tell you to “breathe,” you can actually find a silent room and do a yoga pose to feel the calm rush through you.
- Learn how to take your time: A lot of people nowadays feel pressured to excel or be successful or be able to get tasks done that they forget a fundamental part of life – that failure itself is learning. Yoga is a continuous exercise and a continuous practice, which means there’s a beginning but no end. When you start yoga, you might feel extremely agitated and find it difficult to do even the basic poses. As you progress, however, you can slowly realize that you’re slowly improving in your skill and can find yourself weaving through complex poses with ease. Yoga can teach this to you about self confidence, that believing in yourself can start by taking small steps to establish yourself in your zone.
- Let you feel more comfortable in your own body: A lot of people tend to find it hard to accept themselves for who they are because of things such as deformities, personality quirks, or simply by liking things others don’t. Yoga teaches you to slowly get used to your body as you do your poses, as your focus and concentration will slowly put into learning how to use your body to your advantage as you get more acquainted with yoga poses. In essence, yoga can teach you how to be more comfortable with yourself and use things unique about you to feel more confident with who you are. Yoga teaches you how to carry yourself both literally and figuratively.
- Learn how to distance yourself from situations: A lot of problems with self confidence tends to revolve around us wanting to get attached with everything all the time, including negative and hurtful situations that we can’t control. When you practice yoga, the goal is to get your mind and your body in a position of relaxation, where meditation is encouraged through making sure you always get to clear your mind. In yoga, this helps you achieve self confidence by reminding you that even the most complex of problems can be solved when you get yourself out of the equation first and assess your variables from there.
The Takeaway: Building Your Confidence Through Meditation
If you’ve ever conversed with a yoga practitioner, you’re likely going to be surprised with the kind of confidence they exude towards your direction. If there’s anything the above may have taught you, it’s that this confidence isn’t arrogance, but rather self confidence. Yoga has become a way to accept the state of being they’re in, and to take the world as it is and blend with it. Should you have any pressing concerns on your own state of being and lack of self confidence, meditation through yoga may in fact be able to provide you with the kind of relief you need. If you have any questions or tips on yoga for meditation and self confidence, feel free to give us a comment.
