The holidays are well and truly behind us. As we all adjust to resuming our busy work schedules, let this yoga teacher convince you to practice this essential mind-body exercise for holistic healing
The holiday season is over, which means it’s time for everyone to leave the comfort of their homes and go back to work. This raises one concern: back-to-work blues. Whether you’re a student or an employee, no one is immune to this post-holiday melancholy, but there are ways to get through it. For us, that’s yoga. As a mind-body exercise, yoga is a practical workout to do if you want to build on your mental and physical health all at the same time.
We’ve gone over the research surrounding this age-old practice, but now let’s hear from an expert on this topic—one who believes the practice saved her during a critical point in her life.
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Yoga as a safe space
To answer our questions about the exercise, we spoke to yoga trainer Rain Bautista, whose interest in the practice bloomed in 2017. She shares that she was physically and mentally exhausted that year because she had given birth six months prior. Turning to yoga as a safe space, Rain learned the value of pausing, breathing, and nourishing yourself through mindful movement.
Because of these yoga classes, she believes that yoga had saved her from postpartum depression. “The breathwork and meditation helped me ground back to my center. The physical practice helped me love my postpartum body again and again,” she adds.
It all snowballed from there. Nowadays, Rain offers private one-on-one mentorships and shares her movements on social media.
Yoga as a wellness journey
Rain proves that yoga has holistic benefits that could slot well into whatever stage of life you’re in, whether you’re facing postpartum depression as she did or the back-to-work blues as we do. That’s because, compared to other movement practices, yoga’s teachings transcend the mat and lead us to prioritize self-care over looking physically fit.
“While we practice physical strength, balance, and focus, we also practice gratitude, self-compassion, and celebration of the body no matter where it is in its wellness journey,” she says.
Yoga is also helpful in developing a stronger connection to your body, which can then inform your decision-making process, from understanding when to physically push yourself to knowing when enough is enough when it comes to food. Giving examples, Rain says, “Before deciding, ask yourself if what you’re about to do will honor the journey you are in and the work that you have done for yourself. For example, when you get an invite to meet friends you haven’t seen in a long time, will you say yes because you miss them and the connection is real? Or are you saying yes for fear of missing out?”
“Allow the teachings of your practice to bring you to your truth and decide what needs to be done for the reason that it will honor what you have been wanting for yourself all this time. Give yourself permission to be happy—whatever that means and looks for you at the moment. Give yourself permission to indulge because you are worthy, and at the same time, empower yourself to know when and what is enough,” she continues.
Yoga is for everyone
All that said, yoga is a personal journey, so the benefits vary from person to person and can do more than just remedy one’s back-to-work blues. Speaking on this, Rain shares, “For others, it can be just on the physical side where you see how strong you have become and can become. You can see how you lift easier now and how mobile you are when you try to reach down and overhead. You can see how lean you have become from all the full-body stretches and push-ups you do daily.”
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Continuing, she says, “For others, it can be both physical and mental where you realize how important it is to take care of yourself by creating time to workout amidst the busy schedule, how you understand why taking a pause and breathing is so important in decision making, how you find yourself reacting and responding in difficult situations, and more.”
“Lastly, for others, it can be spiritual where both your body and mind are in tune with one another. You see everything in a different perspective now. You step on the mat because you want to show up both for yourself and the people surrounding you. You make time to deeply connect with each and every person you meet, you go beyond taking things personally and truly understand why people do what they do. You detach yourself from the superficial and finally live in your truth,” Rain finishes.
Photos: RAIN BAUTISTA (via Instagram)
