What’s your why?

Why I’m still practicing Yoga after all these years

We all know how hard it is to maintain a daily yoga practice, especially when we have so many other things to focus on – jobs, families, households, responsibilities.  And, I’m often asked by my yoga students, what motivates me to practice every day and how I manage to prioritise my practice.

To be totally honest, I don’t practice everyday, although I would like to. But I do practice most days, even when other responsibilities feel overwhelming and those times when I’d rather just stay in bed a little longer. 

So what keeps me practicing? 

For me, yoga often feels like a lifeline, especially when life feels overwhelming. 

I think of my yoga mat as a refuge, an old friend that’s always there and I think of yoga as a way of life, a means of helping me do this difficult thing of being human.   It’s just what I do.

Every time I get on my mat, I'm reconnecting with myself, healing both body and mind in ways that constantly surprise me.

Strength Beyond the Physical

We all know the beauty of yoga lies in its holistic approach. Yes, it keeps me physically strong and flexible, but it’s the strength of mind that I value most.

Each pose is a conversation between my body and mind, a dialogue that grows more nuanced with every practice and I’m constantly surprised at what crops up in those conversations if I take the time to listen.   

One of the more frequent conversations these days is about aging.  It would be all too easy to be discouraged by the effects of aging on my physicality, give up and start believing that I’m just too old to do that anymore.  Yet the magic of yoga gives me the strength to keep going. 

Consequently, my aging joints, which are always stiff and problematic first thing in the morning, remain mobile and responsive. I'm hopeful that this consistent movement keeps me far away from any knee surgeon's operating table.

The Breath: My Internal Anchor

Perhaps the most transformative aspect of my practice is the breath. This is an aspect of yoga that I have come to understand and appreciate so much more over the decades of my practice.

It's not just air moving in and out, but a powerful tool that interrupts the endless mental chatter. When my mind starts its familiar whirling—spinning stories, replaying regrets, projecting futures—my breath becomes an anchor. Each breath creates space, calming the mental storms and bringing me back to the present moment.

This might sound like a cliché, but cliches are born of widespread truths and this truth is one that I have come to have complete faith in.

The wonder of yoga as a mood changer

When I step onto my yoga mat, something magical happens. My mood begins to shift, almost immediately and especially with Ujjayi breathing.  The tension in my body softens and the worries I’m carrying around start to dissolve.

For me, it’s a form of moving meditation. Through yoga, I'm cultivating mental resilience, emotional balance, and a deep sense of calm. 


A Lifelong Journey

One of my teachers Nicky Knoff always says “Yoga is a journey, not a destination”.   This is the ultimate truth.

Every time I finish a practice, I'm renewed. Transformed. Reminded that healing is not a destination, but a continuous journey of self-awareness, learning, developing compassion, moving the body and shifting the mind.

My mat is always there; always ready to be my refuge, my teacher, my path to wellness.

Finally, my 3 top tips for maintaining a regular practice

Find a place

I’m fortunate to have my own quiet space where I keep my mat and blocks but even when I didn’t have that, I’ve always managed to find a corner of my living space that I could call my yoga space.  It truly helps to have a special place to go to.

Have an intention

Your intention needs to be more than ‘it’s good for me’.

Remember why you started yoga in the first instance and why you still do it.  Be clear about the benefits you get from it and make sure those benefits will continue to be transformational for you in your life off the mat.  Make this your intention.

Trust the practice

Countless people before you have lived a yogic life. It has stood the test of time. It will always be there, and it will always deliver for you, in one way or another.

We don’t always know why it works; we just need to trust that it does work.