Lesley NicoleIf you’ve ever taken a yoga class, you know it’s something more than just a really great way to work out and stretch. Something happens in yoga that almost always leaves you feeling dreamy and blissful. Moving consciously with your breath, getting out of your head and into your body and then surrendering into full relaxation can give you the experience of aligning or uniting mind, body and soul.
The word yoga means “union” in Sanskrit. Yoga is a science and set of practices designed to lead us into conscious connection with ourselves and others. What better time to practice yoga than in the month of love? And who better to practice with than someone you love?
Practicing yoga with someone you love uses movement, play, breath, touch and communication to bring you closer to each other. Below you’ll find 5 reasons you should practice yoga with someone you love to improve your relationship:
1. Strengthen your emotional support through communication and physical touch
Partner yoga requires full participation of both people. All yoga poses require the combination of strength and flexibility, and a balance of steadiness and ease. In partner yoga, you must work together to create one posture combining each of your own measure of strength and flexibility. The result is a pose that reflects the unique dynamics of your relationship. Here, Josh Levine, owner of MBS Yoga, and his girlfriend, Anne Wolfe-Andersen find stability in a complicated seated twist.
2. Improve communication and build trust
Even a simple pose can be difficult when you can’t see what your partner is doing. In partner yoga, you may not always see or know exactly what your partner is doing even while sharing an experience together and most importantly- relying on one another! It’s a practice ground for building trust and learning to find connection even when you’re apart. It took Ellen and Jared a little trial and error to make these mirrored warrior poses align.
3. Establish balance and reciprocity
We all play different roles for each other through the course of a relationship. Sometimes you need someone to lean on, sometimes they lean on you. Partner yoga provides an opportunity to communicate about what your role should be in a particular pose or situation as well as to try out different roles. Here Robin and Kylie act out the foundational support a mother gives her daughter.
4. Learn to let go
Finding the right fit sometimes requires partners to let go of their own ideas of how things should be, or how their partner should be. Practicing yoga with a partner means practicing acceptance for what the other person brings to mat, letting go of perfection and allowing your shared creation to just be what it is meant to be.
5. Create shared moments
Most importantly of all, practicing yoga with someone you love gives you the chance to build memories together and have fun. Science has shown that you build more lasting memories the more sense modalities are engaged at the time of the experience. Partner yoga uses touch, sound, sight and maybe smell! No matter what, though, partner yoga gives you a chance to laugh and connect. Natalie and Caitlyn have been best friends since they were 12 years old.
Oh, and sometimes, your partner is your animal companion. Don’t miss out on these special moments on or off your mat!
Come practice yoga with someone you love this Valentine’s Day at MBS Yoga in a special class featuring yoga teacher Martha Combs & mindful musician Adam Tutor in a fun and relaxing practice of fluid movement (Vinyasa), partner yoga, and restorative Yin postures. Click here for full details: Love, Sax & Yoga at MBS Fitness.