Hi
@Anna C. I'll try my best to explain why yoga means so much to me.
Yoga found me around 10 years ago. Almost overnight I became debilitated with a chronic disease why meant me losing my job/career. The disease spread so rapidly it resulted in me having major internal organs removed to save my life. Unfortunately the operation didn't go as planned resulting in me having to deal with another major obstacle in my recovery/future health which would require further unplanned major surgeries.
After spending 3 months in hospital and finally being allowed home, I knew I had to regain health quickly. My partner was 6 weeks away from giving birth.
All my usual exercises were off limits due to their nature. Climbing, mountain biking, weight training amongst others.
Pushing myself to get better quicker I had to find alternate exercise to keep me from being bed bound.
I found yoga.
It was a book from the library. I flicked through it not knowing what I was looking at and to be honest, didn't really care. I knew I had to pick exercises that matched my ability/rehabilitation.
There wasn't many. But I persevered. At this stage I only practiced the physical asanas
As the days grew to weeks, to months I could see improvements.
Coupled with walks with the newborn it was the only exercise I was capable of.
After 6 months I knew I was strong enough to tentatively return to my old exercises.
I realised though if I could improve my yoga, I could get back to my climbing etc earlier.
I joined a yoga class, and to this day I practice 4 times a week minimum at the same studio. (Covid excepted)
80% of my class is conducted in the Sivananda style, complemented by other styles randomly. Iyengar, Ashtanga, Tibetan etc.
If you decide to dabble in yoga, please try a few styles. Like bikes, mountain/road cycling is conducted on a bike, but they are different. Closer to home, single KB work is different from double KB work. You may enjoy one style more than another, it doesn't mean you don't like/not suited to biking or KB's
In a couple of years I got myself from being barely able to get out of bed to being accomplished in some advanced asanas. (Blood to head stand, scorpion, handstand etc)
I noticed improvements in all areas of my life, the relaxation/meditation helped me cope with young children and getting back to work.
The breathing exercise skills (pranayama) transferred to every aspect of my life. At all times I now breath as the human body intended. (most adults don't) Look at a baby breath, they do it best, from the diaphragm.
The challenges in yoga are immeasurable, also so are the adaptions to postures, so there is never an excuse to say "I can't" only "not yet"
This is the challenge I enjoy most, you can't hide, in its rawest form you can do yoga anywhere in just your underwear. You can't say, I could do the TGU if I had a 28, I could have cycled faster if I had a better bike, I could have run further if I had new trainers. No, there is you and the mat, nothing else. You have to control your emotions, focus your attention and challenge your perceptions of what you are capable of and queston yourself everyday.
These skills are transferable, you can apply these skills to relationships, work, sport, everywhere.
To cement my belief that yoga has positive affects on the mind and body, after each major surgery, my physical condition obviously depleted, but laying in the recovery room, I focused on my pranayama, I used relaxation and mediation skills to detract from pain, when allowed to be mobile, I got back on the mat. Sure I had regressed, new scars hurt, they prevented me from doing asanas I had worked so hard to achieve only weeks earlier. I never gave up though on getting back to where I was, I adapted my asanas and in doing this grew my knowledge and physical capabilities and I got back to where I was, then further surgery was required and the cycle repeated, but I had learned how to cope through yoga.
Yoga has got me to a point where I am determined to at the very least achieve Simple standard. I won't wander off to something else I fancy when the going gets tough, I will remain focused when I know the TGU technique requires attention, I will humbly seek help when I realise it is required. Talking to other people about their experiences can bring immeasurable benefits, even on an internet forum.
The physical benefits of yoga I can't even begin to explain, I can give you examples though. In my job (climbing arborist) occasionally very hard jobs come up. Climbing out onto a limb of a 500 year old tree and abseiling down to cut back a broken branch. The team ask me to do it, I'm not the best arborist but I remain supple enough even in my forties to carry out this sort of task, and I have the mental discipline to complete a technically mentally exhaustive task. Other people simply don't want the challenge. I relish it. It helps me in the head that I'm still on the right path.
Anyway I digress, yoga, yeah it is good. Give it a go. You may even be surprised how sweaty it gets.