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Yoga is not for me, I am _________
Over the years, whenever I encouraged friends and family to give Yoga a try, I would often get responses like: ‘Oh interesting! I heard Yoga is beneficial but I am ________.’
I hope this article would highlight some of the common misconceptions about Yoga. I will be referring to Yoga here as an Asana physical practice as commonly understood.
“I am not flexible enough”
This is the number one reason given! Contrary to popular belief , Yoga is not about flexibility, although one might infer that looking at social media #yoga poses.
It is never about touching your toes or being able to get into incredible bendy positions. All these might get you a lot of Instagram likes but they do not make you a Yogi.
“I am not zen enough”
Being zen is commonly understood to be relaxed and not worried about circumstances that you cannot change. While few are born with this innate equanimity, the rest of us have to practice to be able to reach this mental state.
People who claim this as their objection to trying Yoga should be applauded. It requires a certain level of self-awareness and honesty to admit that you are easily riled up by the situations that you have no control. However, it begs the question of whether you want to remain a victim of your circumstances.
Practicing the breathing techniques or resting in “corpse pose” are brief opportunities for you to understand the nature of your mind, and how “unconscious” you have allowed it to be!
Only with this understanding, then there can be the desire and subsequent effort to develop the mind.
“I am used to strength training”
When trying to develop strength and power, most people devote their time to lifting weights and pushing physically . Some might include cardio training to improve endurance. To such people, Yoga might not provide the same intensity and The stretches in most Yoga poses do not seem to be used to increase strength.
In actual fact, stretching indirectly helps to increase muscular strength by expanding your range of motion. When you lift weights over a greater movement pattern, more muscle fibres are activated, making your muscles stronger.
You build muscles by creating tiny tears in the muscles. This causes lactic acid to build up. Stretching post-workout helps the body circulate fresh blood, feeding nutrients to deficient muscles.
Mindful stretching helps to prevent injuries. In a properly-guided Yoga class, there will be constant cues reminding you to observe your breath and feel the body. This increased level of self-awareness can help in your strength training so that you can work within the limitations of your body.
Beyond the Yoga pose
The Asana is not the end in itself. We do not practice Yoga just to achieve a headstand or wheel and think that the work is done. The Asana is the a process.
When you move your body in a certain manner, it affects the way you act and feel. Your physical posture changes your energy. When you sit upright, you would feel more alert than when you slouch.
When you deliberately put the body into a Yoga pose, you are aligning the body energy in a particular way. That is why awareness of your breath and your mental state is crucial in a Yoga pose. If you develop your yoga practice in a mindful way, you will be able to feel where the body energies are blocked and where it is flowing freely.
When that happens, the understanding of yoga poses as a process deepens and you will find perfect ease in any position of the body.
I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I did penning it. Again, it is not written to discredit any of the common reasons given against Yoga. Most of the reasons are based on misconceptions of Yoga in popular media. If you have changed your mind and would like to give Yoga a try, you are more than welcome! Just drop me a PM 😉
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