If you have been to one of my yoga classes you know that many times I offer different versions of the pose for people to choose the one that is best for them. I believe that we are not all the same – we have different bodies and we come to yoga class from different places. Our circumstances, fitness level, body awareness, ability to breathe, nervous system can differ greatly. And we can’t be expected to be able to do the same thing at the same time. That is why I think it is important to talk about why doing more than we can in yoga is not serving us well.
I can easily understand why people want to go for the more advanced version of the pose. The first time it is part of our exploration. Can I actually do this. But then sometimes we keep doing it every time even though our lower back complains, we can’t keep our balance or keep ending in an uncomfortable bind unable to breathe. I have been guilty of this many times myself. It gives us the feeling that we are getting more out of the pose. It makes us believe we are advancing, getting better. Being the only one in the room doing the easier version can easily bring feelings of inadequacy. That we are not good enough, not progressing fast enough.
What happens when we choose to do the version we are not ready for
If we are determined but not physically ready for a pose or our nervous system is unwilling to allow us to get into it, our bodies will oblige us and still find a way to do it. How does this work? By compensating the movements that are not available to us at the moment. For example, there is not enough movement in the hip. Then the knees will move more in ways they are not supposed to move in order to achieve the form we are striving for. Or there is not enough strength in a muscle, then other muscles will take over to do the job. The result is, at best, that we are not getting stronger. We are just avoiding the weak muscle and reinforcing our movement patterns. Or, at worst, we can overstretch and overwork parts that are not supposed to stretch and work, injure ourselves and end up in pain.
The power of yoga lies in its ability to show us where our limitations are.
If we are able to acknowledge and accept our limitations we can start working with them. And right away they become our strengths because we move from this powerful base of awareness that will eventually bring us closer to being stronger and more flexible in our bodies and minds. If we really sense into our hips and recognise how far their ability to move goes at the moment and just work there, we can avoid loading the knee to compensate and basically avoid pain and suffering. If we do less with our weaker muscles we will allow them and get better at their job.
So it comes down to awareness again and being present with what is and where we are at the moment. Accepting this we can really grow. This is what yoga is. It’s not about the postures, the correct form, improving or achieving perfection. Yoga is being able to sense into our selves, recognising our strengths and limitation today and starting form there.
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