My 7-year journey of yoga

Hi guys! My name is Oksana, I’m a passionate yoga teacher and astrologer. I was born in Ukraine and for the last 4 years, I live and work in London. I’m a former model, LSE graduate turned yoga professional. I was introduced to Yoga in 2013 and has become a keen practitioner and yoga instructor since then. As you may guess, one of my biggest passions is yoga. And here I will explain to you why :)

It was 7 years ago when my friend invited me to join her for an Ashtanga Yoga class. At that time, I did not know anything about yoga, and I agreed to join her out of curiosity — to try a new “activity” and make my body stronger.
The first lesson went terribly wrong, and somehow the “beginner” class lasted 2 hours). I almost died from the intensity, despite being used to a lot of personal training in the gym. I was so angry, and the first thought that came to mind was that I would never do yoga again! But after I came down, I decided to get over myself and set an intention to do yoga 1–2 times per week. For the second class, I was mentally prepared and patient. With each lesson, I was becoming more and more involved in the process. The exercises were less and less challenging. In two weeks, I realised that my body has started to change but not the same way as it does from intense gym training, but a lot more elegantly. The muscles were not oversized, the fat started to melt, and I felt an incredible rush of liveliness in my body.

With each lesson, I felt more strength and energy. By the end of the second month, I managed to do proper push-ups, even though before I couldn’t even handle a single push-up. After some time, my flexibility was drastically improved — I learned how to sit in lotus, how to make splits, bridges, and headstands. Every class brought about further progress, both physical and spiritual. Over time I developed willpower, persistence and focus.
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I started to truly enjoy every session as I felt that I was disappearing, losing myself and then finding myself back fresher, stronger and cleaner. This feeling of inner cleansing and harmony became a part of me. The peak of satisfaction comes in Shavasana when everything that was heavy and not needed left me with a tone of sweat in Shavasana. I fell into this magical place where everything is connected. This is a truly magical process, a sacred ritual. That's why yoga is often mixed up with religion.

With every pose, you discover something new about yourself, about your body, about how you view yourself. You truly connect with yourself. It’s a moment akin to orgasm . When youre overwhelmed with the vawe of satisfaction and love. It is a uniquely intimate moment. The moment of contact with the beauty within yourself.

Of course, during the first two years, there was a lot I couldn’t understand. My main focus was on physical development. And I couldn’t yet comprehend that all of these various poses were created 5,000 years ago in order to take control of your mind. Out of all people that practise yoga probably not even 20% go further into the actual philosophy of yoga. That is, in fact, the first sign that the person is ready for the next stage. When you start wondering WHY a lot of awareness starts coming into your life.

• Why do we relax in the end in Shavasana? There is no such activity in the gym.
• Why are most people who practice yoga vegetarians?
• Why do they keep drinking these herbal teas? — Why do they keep flying to India? It must be really cool there!
• Where do the teachers get so much strength? How could they possibly stand on one hand?
• And why do yoga studios seem to have a special atmosphere inside? There’re always some candles lit up, always everyone is sitting on the pillows on the floor, a lot of exciting books and various talismans?

In Essence, during these 7 years, I learned a lot and gained a lot of answers. But most importantly, I understood what the truth is. While I was in Peru doing ayahuasca, I realised that yoga is the truth. The word yoga in Sanskrit stands for a union. A union with what you may ask. With your inner self and the universe or God if you wish. This is the answer to all possible questions. It’s an inner truth which our life is weaved with. When you connect with this truth, your eyes open to a broader meaning of life. You discover love, and you become love.

Finally, I’d like to end with one quote: “Life is not long enough to understand the true meaning of yoga, but yoga is enough to make life worthy” 💖

Thank you for your attention :) please like this article and share it with your friends 👍🏼

With love,

Oksana