I remember the first time I did yoga. I was in a warm, smelly gymnasium, surrounded by my fellow sixth graders. The lights were dim, and my hippie-dippie sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Harris was leading us in the zen practice she loved so dearly. I stifled laughter the entire time. The idea of pretending to be a tree or a chair could not seem crazier to me. I thought it was so stupid and did not care for the experience at all. 

More than 17 years have passed, and I’ve not only come to love yoga since then, I recently started my training to become a certified yoga instructor. Maybe it’s the added stress life has handed me since the somewhat carefree days of sixth grade, but I now find yoga to be extremely soothing and joy-inducing! One of the things I love most about it is that it can be tailored to individuals so that everyone is going at their own pace and doing what feels right to their body that day. As Color Code teaches us, we are all different, and some of those one-size-fits-all workout programs out there are just not going to work for everyone.

Another thing I love about yoga is that even just doing one pose in a day can increase mindfulness and reduce stress! Stress-free, sixth grade me found chair pose and tree pose to be difficult and pointless, but fast forward a few years, and 16-year-old me relished the minutes I spent focusing on my breathing in corpse pose as I let the stress of high school melt off of me. As adults living in a global pandemic, I’d say we could all use a stress reliever. If yoga seems intimidating to you, or you feel you are too busy to do an entire yoga flow, have no fear: I am here to introduce you to just one pose you can do each day that caters to your personality.

FOR THE BLUES

Blues, as you know, life is all about relationships. You guys constantly work hard to serve others, spend time with loved ones and provide a listening ear for friends and strangers alike. You are doing a great job on building relationships with others, but what about your relationship with yourself? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by how much you are giving to others? Does it ever feel like you are giving way more than you are taking? Instead of letting that feeling build up inside you until you start to hold grudges, try taking a little of that time you put toward others, and put it toward yourself. It’s amazing to me how powerful the practice of giving yourself a hug is. I remember the first time I did this in a yoga practice, and it felt like I was being swallowed up in love. Try doing this by lying flat on your back and then drawing your knees up toward your chest. Wrap your arms around your legs and slowly begin to rock back and forth. Then, close your eyes, focus on taking deep breaths, and feel that love radiate throughout your body!

FOR THE YELLOWS

It might not seem like Yoga and Yellow go together, but my very Yellow sister loves to do yoga! Yoga really helps with concentration and can actually be really fun. One of the most fun poses to try out is Crow. Now don’t get me wrong, Crow is challenging and took me years to master. However, part of the reason it is fun is because you can get a good laugh out of making yourself look like a fool the first several times you try it. And the great thing about Yellows is y’all are great about laughing at yourselves. Once you do master it, you’ll have a blast doing it. To get started, get into a squatting position with your toes and knees pointing outward and your hands placed flat on the floor in front of you. Then, begin to lean forward until your legs are resting on the backs of your arms and you’re holding almost all of your body weight with your hands. Finally, lift both of your feet off of the ground so that you basically look like a frog in mid-flight. Pro-tip: To keep your balance, keep your gaze focused just in front of you. Fun, right?? 🙂

FOR THE REDS

A Red personality’s core motive is power, and I can’t think of a better power pose in yoga than Warrior I. When I do Warrior I, it makes me feel strong and brave, which, let’s be honest, is probably how Reds feel most of the time. But life is stressful, and even Reds could use a reminder now and then that they can slay any project that comes their way. To do Warrior I, get into a lunge position and raise your arms up toward the sky. The deeper the lunge, the better the workout and the stronger you’ll feel. 

FOR THE WHITES

For a White personality who values peace above all else, the chaos of the world can get extremely overwhelming. Yoga brings a lot of inner peace to its students, so I would recommend becoming a practiced Yogi to any White. However, if a regular yoga flow doesn’t appeal to you and you’d rather stick with one pose a day, I’d suggest Child’s Pose. Child’s Pose is perfect for checking in with yourself and recharging for a minute or so. It brings immediate peace and relaxation, and it’s pretty comfortable, so it’s a pose you can stay in for a while. White’s, we all know you are silently stubborn and do NOT enjoy feeling controlled. But, inevitably, life is going to feel like it’s controlling you at times. Child’s Pose to me is a pose of surrender. Envisioning yourself surrendering to life and your circumstances in this pose can help you feel like you’re taking a leap of faith and accepting your journey rather than allowing others to throw your peace off balance. To get into Child’s Pose, get into a kneeling position, then lean forward so that your forehead is resting on the floor. Reach your arms out in front of you and let the mindful breathing begin!

If you’re one of the many who wishes they had less stress in their life but can’t seem to figure out how to make that happen, give your respective yoga personality pose a try. Breathe in, breathe out, and let us know in the comments if it helps! Namaste.

____________________________________________

Megan Christensen is a Blue who has been writing her feelings for as long as she can remember. Megan graduated from BYU-Idaho in 2014 with a degree in communication. A lifelong fan of the Color Code, she’s thrilled to be the content editor of the blog and hopes to help as many people as possible become more self-aware. When she’s not writing, Megan can be found reading, doing yoga, and spending as much time as she can outdoors.