Alex Grant can change your life if you let him!

How, you ask, can Alex, who lives halfway around the world in Australia and surfs every day, change your life?

It’s simple.

Alex has found a way to remove negative feelings, depression, lethargy, energy blocks, stiffness, anxiety and joylessness. I am so impressed by Alex and his ability to reach out and find the joy in his life and share with others that I knew I wanted to share his ability to “seize the day” with you. Alex currently lives in Mullumbimby Australia. He has been a yoga teacher and Chinese Medicine Practitioner for the past eight years.

He also created ta great yoga website, www.findyoga.com, which helps men and women around the world find the best yoga spots in their cities. Whether it is Sydney, Australia, Paris, London, New York, Miami, Tel Aviv, Mysore or New Delhi www.findyoga.com is the go-to place to find the yoga that will suit your needs.

Please remember this: You don’t have to be good at yoga, you just have to do Yoga. I am not very good at yoga, but I practice every single day and it has changed my life. Please enjoy my interview with Alex and let it be the beginning of your personal transformation.

BL: Why do you do Practice Yoga?

AG: It is something inside me that leads me to practice. When I don’t do my practice, I feel a bit stuck, like there is energy that needs to move. This stuck energy affects other aspects of my life including my moods and energy levels. Yoga keeps my body subtle and my mind relaxed. It provides a deep sense of understanding and acceptance. I feel like myself when I practice and when I don’t, I feel like an anxious knot. Yoga for me is not something I do, but something that I am. It is a connection to myself and the universe.

BL: How long have you practiced?

AG: I attended my first yoga class at Integral Yoga in New York in 1996. It was a very mellow hatha yoga class with lots of meditation and slow breathing. There were relaxed yoga poses that moved from one to the next, with a break between each pose. For the first five years of my practice, I believed that this was all there was to yoga. In 2002, I travelled to Mysore in south India and practiced Ashtanga yoga, a very dynamic form of yoga. This changed my understanding of yoga. I resonated with the strong asanas and regular breath. I practiced Ashtanga faithfully for about five years. Then during the last several years, my practice has become less of a routine. Now I fluctuate from practicing Ashtanga to doing a mellow hatha practice to just sitting in meditation and deep breathing.

BL: How can a beginner dive in?

AG: Just go to a class. There are many yoga classes all over the world. I would choose a mellow beginner class and see how that feels. There is plenty of time to go to more strenuous forms of yoga. It is good to get the mind to slow with gentle movements, without putting to much stress on the body.

BL: What do you want people to know about the benefits of yoga?

AG: On a deep level, yoga removes the obstacles of seeing the reality of things. On a physical level, yoga keeps the body subtle. It keeps the energy pathways free and tones the muscles and organs. On an emotional level, yoga helps to prevent depression and anxiety. It relaxes the mind and helps people to control their emotions. On a spiritual level, yoga helps us to connect with the universal consciousness. In Sanskrit, the word yoga means union. On its deepest level, it is union with the divine.

BL: What are the distinct benefits of yoga, particularly for anti-aging?

AG: Aging is a natural occurrence that happens to all of us. Yoga will help to keep the energy in the body moving and free from stagnation, which are the main occurrences of aging and disease. It helps to reduce stress and anxiety, which contribute to premature aging and disease. It also helps us to accept the effects of aging and come to terms with our own vulnerability and ultimate death. The proof is in the pudding. When one looks at long time yoga practitioners, they look vibrant and full of life well into their senior years.

BL: How often should one practice to reap rewards?

AG: As much as possible. Everyone has different responsibilities and time available. Ideally, one should practice every day, if even for five to ten minutes. It is better to do a few minutes every day then two hours once a week!

As Alex says, yoga will help to keep the energy in the body moving and free from stagnation. It also helps to reduce stress and anxiety. Please go to www.findyoga.com and find the yoga center that is right for you to start your anti-aging transformation. We’d love to hear from you. Whether you have questions, suggestions or testimonials, just send me an email at [email protected]. Namaste!

I believe in the unique beauty of everyday and everyone. I am an intuitive healer whose “toolbox” includes being a Reiki Master, Guided Imagery, Aromatherapy, Feng Shui for Abundance, Crystal Healing, Restorative Yoga,  Compassion and Kindness. I left the corporate world to find my way in the real world. I am interested in your story and your journey. Please contact me @ [email protected].

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Editor: Cassandra Smith