Let me address all your excuses for not doing yoga
I’m pretty vocal about all the ways a yoga practice has changed my life.
Yoga made my anxiety more manageable, fixed painful issues lingering from my broken back, and has given me the ability to access a stillness and connection that I didn’t think existed. I will be eternally grateful for this practice.
And a while ago, a friend talked to me about wanting to start doing yoga. But she was worried. She had questions.
Her concerns were pretty universal. I’ve heard them many times from all kinds of people. Whenever I say I teach yoga, I tend to hear “oh, I would like to try it, but…”
Then, they list all the reasons they are standing in their own way. All the reasons that come from ego and fear and that nasty internal voice that says they are going to look stupid and fail — so it’s better to not try.
Let me address these concerns in case you have that asshole in your head, too.
“I am not flexible.”
When someone tells me they can’t do yoga because they are not flexible, that’s like saying they can’t eat because they are hungry. Yoga is how you learn to get a little more bendy. It will happen when you start practicing!
But flexibility is not a requirement at all. When I started practicing yoga I was super stiff with very little muscle strength. That’s where most of us started. There is a common saying in yoga: “It’s not about touching your toes. It’s about what you learn on the way down.”
“My neck/back/hip/body hurts.”
I get it. I was still struggling with the repercussions of a broken back when I started practicing yoga. But the beautiful thing about yoga is that it will meet you where you are. You are the boss of you: you get to practice at the intensity that suits you. If something causes you pain, back off and rest. “No pain, no gain” is garbage and we don’t do that here. Pain means stop.
However, if you feel some discomfort because it’s new - that’s great! You will probably be a little sore as your body gets used to moving in that way. But you’ll get strong as hell, too. When I walked into a yoga studio for the first time, I didn’t know it would lead to being pain-free for the first time in almost 20 years. Yeah, it took some work to get there, but it was so worth it.
“There are postures I won’t be able to do.”
Yes, there will be postures you can’t do, and welcome to the club. I’ve been doing this for more than a decade, and I work really hard at it – there are tons of postures I can’t do. So I switch them up and find a version that works for my body. We ALL need to modify things because we have that bum knee, the tender wrist, the blood pressure issue. Everyone has their shit. So you do what works for you. Don’t let your ego keep you from something this freaking magical.
“It’s going to be hard.”
Sometimes self-care looks like getting a massage, and sometimes it’s about climbing a mountain. This is my mountain. I’ve struggled through some very tough yoga classes – after my dog died, after a long flight, and after I made some unfortunate food/drink choices. And sometimes my practice is really hard for no discernible reason. But I ALWAYS felt better after class than I did before. Because it’s about understanding what I’m actually capable of. It’s about remembering that I can take time to get stronger in body, mind, and heart.
“I feel ridiculous.”
I love this point because it is honest and so very important. Yoga deals with the body but it is so much more about managing the mind. It’s a moving meditation and all the emotional crap is going to come up. Yoga can help you let go and override your ego. Everyone in the class, regardless of how bendy and cute they look in their short-shorts, had a first class where they felt lost and scared and incompetent. It’s just part of the deal. The yoga mat is where you learn to stop being so hard on yourself, and just be in the moment and do the best you can. It’s your own time, your own practice to deal with your own stuff.
So, take a deep breath and get on that mat with me. Give yourself permission to try, to fall down, to rest, and to be stronger than you thought you were.
You are welcome here. You are safe here. You got this.