All Over Yoga

Yoga on my car… on a table… in a restaurant. No, I haven't always fallen into yoga poses in random places and photographed it.

"You post too many photos of your butt in the air," my mom scolds me.

Not everyone understands my passion behind All Over Yoga. Last month I unwound from a long day with some simple yoga on my living room floor. I didn't do anything fancy and I wasn't in a special yoga studio, but with each down dog my muscles relaxed and my mind centered. My whole night got better.

I posted about my experience and challenged myself and healthy ashley readers to do 10 minutes of yoga every day for 30 days. A simple enough challenge, many joined in.

I was excited to have so many friends including little bits of yoga in their life, but the emails and comments that followed showed me this challenge did something much greater.

Girls with eating disorders used yoga to battle their behaviors. Athletes intimidated by the practice decided to take a second look. Fellow bloggers decided child's pose and shavasana were perfect for unwinding after a long day.

People started doing yoga and seeing the benefits.

Forcing myself to include yoga into each day changed yoga's role in my life. No longer was it something I practiced once a week to supplement my other activities. Instead I started playing with new poses and testing my strength. I learned side crow, improved upward bow and (with lots and lots and lots or practice) finally got into my beloved headstand.

So I did a vinyasa on the sidewalk of a sleeping city; I fell into side crow on the floor at a party; I played with a few moves in the middle of a bar. I was on a yoga high and couldn't wait to show everyone how fun yoga could be.

Yoga flushes the stresses of the world out of my system. It allows me to feel each part of my body- from the tightness of my shoulders in warrior I to the sensation of spreading my toes in supported shoulder stand. I'm not super flexible or strong and that's okay. Yoga asks nothing of me except for me to breathe. That's it.

Yoga changed my life.

Hearing how yoga changed your lives as well inspired me. I don't want yoga to be some secret club reserved for expensive studios and self-proclaimed yogis. It's too powerful to be kept hidden.

I say yoga to the people! Yoga can be upward bow on top of a car. Yoga can be child's pose in your living room. Yoga can be five minutes of deep breathing. Whichever practice you choose this day, yoga will better your life. And, yes, yoga is for everyone.

To celebrate the fabulousness of yoga I am working on AllOverYoga.com, where the mission is to make yoga fun and accessible to everyone! The site will include giveaways, tips, stories and more. Of course I'll also be asking each of you to send your All Over Yoga photos showing off the crazy places you practice!

Keep your down dogs steady now- AllOverYoga.com will launch Monday, August 16th!

What do you love about yoga? Or what has kept you from giving it a try?