This semester I have been doing yoga twice a week and it has absolutely changed my life. Not only does it help with flexibility, but it provides a way for me to process and develop my thoughts. I have always been a very anxious person, but yoga has provided me with a healthy way of categorizing how I feel and it has helped me stay healthy. My practice has given me six life-changing habits that I will continue for as long as I live. Here are six ways yoga will change your life:

1. It will give you much needed "me time" during the week.

I always joke about how I have to schedule my "me time" in order to fit it in. However, I really do this with yoga. Yoga is a time that I get to focus on just myself for an hour. No matter what kind of day I have had or how I am feeling, my practice is a time that I use to deal with those feelings and work on becoming a better me.

2. It will provide you with new ways of thinking.

I could not be more serious about this one -- it really works! Like I previously mentioned, I have always been an anxious person. Luckily, yoga has given me healthy ways to process my thoughts and to allow them to pass through my freely and fully. I used to have the mentality of getting my thoughts out on paper only to push them away and never deal with them, but through yoga, I have learned how to confront what I am feeling head on and in a healthy way.

3. It will give you everyday energy.

Simply practicing yoga twice a week will help your lifestyle tremendously. Yoga has given me a new understanding of the limits and lengths of my body. It has also helped me become more familiar with my physical pains while giving me great ways to cope with them. In doing so, I have been able to build up flexibility, pain management practices, and energy to get me through the day.

4. It will teach you how to breathe.

The truth is, we all suck at breathing. We are too busy, too worn out, and too far-stretched in our daily lives. This leaves us forgetting to take care of ourselves and this includes forgetting to breathe correctly. I didn't know I was breathing all wrong until I went to my first yoga class. Thankfully, breathing in class has trained me for breathing better through day-to-day life.

5. It will give you something to do in those really cute leggings.

Yoga clothes are the best clothes! I like wearing really cute leggings and jogging pants to do errands or to go to class, but getting to wear them to class is exciting. Now, when I am shopping and see really cute leggings I want to get them for yoga!

6. It will help you cultivate happiness.

There are many days when it is hard to cultivate my own happiness. If you feel this way, too, then I can assure you that yoga will help you become better at placing happier and healthier thoughts in your head. Although anxiety and anxiousness are things I deal with daily, yoga has been really good for me as it has given me positive ways to process and think through my feelings.