Much of what holds you back from reaching a fitness, sporting or weight loss goal is in your mind. All too commonly we sabotage ourselves with our own limitations. Sport psychology and yoga can unite to help us challenge these self-imposed limits.
Yoga is a great tool for teaching you how to challenge these self-imposed limits and redefine the boundaries of what is possible. Yoga poses provide you with the opportunity to find and push your ‘edge’- the place between the known and the unknown. This can be a ‘flexibility edge’, an ‘endurance edge’, a ‘concentration edge’ or any other physical, mental or emotional ‘edge’ that you feel restricted by.
We tend to steer clear of these edges in our fitness regimes and daily life, instead remaining well within our comfort zone. Playing your physical edge in a yoga posture by holding it a few breaths longer, stretching slightly higher, or releasing deeper into the pose will show you that by stepping out of your comfort zone you can experience real growth and improvement.
Become aware of your fitness comfort zone and see if you can move outside of it. If you usually workout in the gym alone, then try joining a circuits class, if marathon running is your chosen hobby, then have a go at Pilates or yoga, and if you’re relying on the step machine to burn calories, mix it up with some weight lifting. By becoming aware of your edges and working outside of your comfort zone, you will remove the limitations that are causing you to plateau, provide opportunity for progression and discover new ways to stay fit and healthy.
