Finally, I heeded her advice. After 60 minutes alongside her well-loved Priscilla Patrick VHS, spent mostly staring at the ceiling or contemplating a nap on the living room floor, I swore it off and exclusively stuck to soccer.

What my mom deemed powerfully transcendent, I wrote off as impossibly boring. Eventually, I would come to understand all the “staring at the ceiling” as the practice of gentle meditation, an important practice of nearly all walks of yoga.

A few years after the first (and, up until that point, only) yoga incident, a friend gifted me a certificate to Best Buy, where I found myself mulling over Denise Austin’s Power Yoga Plus. I reluctantly purchased it, and popped it in the DVD player.

Unlike the last experience, that video turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable 20-minute experience. I even felt invigorated afterward. That little DVD stayed with me all throughout college, helping me through many a stressful exam cramming study period. Yet, after a while, I still wanted more.

A bachelor’s degree and 25 pounds later, I began to explore different branches of yoga, extending anywhere from Kundalini to Ashtanga. Initially the motivation had been weight loss, but eventually it became more than that.

Although I’d already been teaching PIYO (a combination of pilates and yoga) for close to a year, my quest for something more eventually led me to a YogaFIT workshop. The workshop was packed with all different sorts of people: seasoned and new instructors alike, college students, wellness center workers and individuals who simply sought to improve their own private practices.

Not a moment went wasted. When we weren’t learning about ways to structure a vinyasa style session (often known as flow-yoga) or how to incorporate transformational language (to positively and peacefully guide students through the session), we were practicing proper alignment of the body in each pose and leading each other through mock sessions. Needless to say, we were all sore from practicing our fill of planks, crocodiles and warriors.

By the end of the workshop, what resonated with me the most was more so metaphysical than purely physical. The workshop instructor gave a wonderful interpretation of the meaning behind the word “namaste” (often said at the very end of a yoga session) and what it really means to practice yoga.

In the words of this particular instructor, “namaste” is a greeting with depth, much like “aloha” or “shalom” expressing that “the goodness and humanity in me recognizes the goodness and humanity in you.”

Unlike many other forms of physical and mental fitness, yoga is unique because the primary focus is neither competition nor meeting expectations. Instead, emphasis is placed on making each session, whether alone or in a class, a positive, individual experience reflective of the mind and body’s present state.

On days where we experience more aches and pains than usual, a session might be slower paced and filled with postural modifications not normally inserted on days where the body is free of them.

Another workshop classmate said it best, stating “You can practice yoga by simply stepping on a mat and taking a few breaths.”

The point my instructor was trying to make is that, “namaste” does not necessarily need to be chanted throughout your practice (especially if chanting is uncomfortable for you), and it’s not necessarily about contorting yourself into acrobatical positions. What it really aims to communicate is the importance of acknowledging feelings of compassion toward your own self and towards those around you. By striving to find that, you are being true to the nature of yoga, no matter the mental or physical path down which your practice takes you that day.

Whether you’re indoors or outdoors, feeling at your best or at your worst, restricted to an office chair or in a professional studio with mats, a soccer player like me, or simply looking for a way to further improve your own health, yoga is a practice that can be implemented on a daily basis and one that can benefit many different people.

If you are looking to improve your practice or are ready to make the move towards becoming an instructor, attending a yoga-centered workshop is a great option. I encourage you to explore the many vast varieties around and stick with what feels best for your body.

~Namaste

Delfina Bonilla-Cassel is the founder of EnForma Fit LLC and an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and yoga instructor. Her motto is "Shaping the best you, one workout at a time." Visit her website or blog, or find her on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.