I have heard people use that phrase so many times that I want to say it straight away – you are flexible enough to do yoga!
There is this misconception about yoga that you have to be in great shape to start practicing. The reason for that is the media of course and nowadays social media in particular. There are so many images and videos out there of young, slim, flexible people adopting all kinds of sophisticated poses that no wonder most people will think yoga is not for them. But this can’t be farther from the truth. Yoga is not a sports discipline. Yoga is a practice that creates healthier, stronger, more responsive minds and bodies at any point in life.
You can come to yoga as you are, wherever you are in your life’s journey. It doesn’t matter if you can run a marathon or if you have to take a brake walking up the stairs.
If you can breathe, you can do yoga.
You can be in a chair and do yoga. You can be 90 years old and do yoga.
So how is that possible?
Yoga’s wholistic view
In yoga there is this idea that each of us is a holistic entity and that we have many dimensions that are intertwined and inseparable. So if you work on one dimension, the whole being will be affected. If you work on the body through yoga postures, then your breathing, your mental and emotional state, your overall sense of wellbeing will change. Or you can start with the breath and notice how that affects everything else. You can spend some time observing your mind and then come back to your body and feel it in a different way. So there are many ways to access what yoga has to offer. It can be through a vigorous physical practice, through gentle movement, through breathing, meditation, self awareness.. A different entrance is open for different people.
We are all different
In life and in yoga we are all different. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. We all come with different predispositions, abilities and needs. So yoga must be tailored to the individual. In a big anonymous drop-in class this is very difficult and most of the times impossible to do. Even if the teacher is very knowledgeable and experienced. That’s why many people may come to yoga and leave disappointed after their first class. Then they are convinced that they are not flexible (good) enough to practice.
And this is very sad and unfortunate because these classes are not a good representation of yoga at all. In reality, yoga has the perfect tools to serve anybody. Yoga is not about how fast we flow from one posture to another. Or how good we look while we do it. It is about being truthful to yourselves about where we are at the moment and acknowledging our limitations. It is about what our goals and needs are right now and how can we improve our overall state of being and our connection to ourselves so that we can meet whatever challenges come our way.
Yoga is self-empowerment
In our culture we are incessantly taught that healing always comes from without – through medications, examinations and specialist opinions. We often feel helpless and lost, mere victims to what is happening to our bodies, minds and souls. On the contrary, yoga teaches us agency. Practicing yoga we become our own healers, we become experts on ourselves. We play an active role in our journey toward health and we achieve greater sense of autonomy. And this can be liberating, comforting and empowering. Whatever your predicament, yoga can give you tools to make life at least a little bit better.
If you wish to start your yoga journey, reach out with any questions or uncertainties.I teach yoga classes online or 1-2-1 sessions online and in person.
Related articles:
Five benefits from yoga that you might be missing out on now
Who can benefit from private yoga classes
How to navigate the online yoga world
Photo by Natalie Grainger on Unsplash
