YOGA – Are You Too Shy to Try?

“I would love to try yoga, but I’m just not flexible”

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“I would love to try yoga, but I’m just not flexible”

This has to be one of the saddest reasons I’ve ever heard of as a reason not to try one of the most wonderful experiences in life, an experience that if we let it, will transform us inside and out.

When someone sets foot into a yoga class for the first time, and they see ( or think they see) a room full of lithe, extra bendy bodies creating inconceivable shapes, it is most natural to feel overwhelmed and feel like turning around on the spot.

However perception can be incredibly cruel, in that it makes us feel inferior in some way if we are a beginner, or have a misconception about what yoga really is. The truth is that every single yoga student, including the teacher, is always learning and always seeking to deepen their practice, so all feel the same need to learn as the beginner does. The class is united in this desire to discover more about their bodies, and with a good teacher they will learn to surpass their own expectations and leave self-perceived limitations outside the yoga classroom door. Flexibility, is not the core of yoga however how to safely lengthen tightness in the body, by letting it go with the breath, is most certainly a very key part of it.

Yoga teaches us not only to lengthen our tissues but also to strengthen areas of weakness. When taught correctly, the student should learn how to align their joints, stacking them so that they can articulate in the most efficient range. When the student begins to understand how to move their joints from a position of stability, then tightness will slowly lengthen, and weakness will strengthen in the opposing muscles, reinforcing correct joint alignment and efficient movement.

Learning how to move the body efficiently, enables us to find long term relief of aches and pains as we release the build up of possibly years of misuse, and help us correct poor habits and will ultimately help to protect our joints from decline, especially as we age.

This coupled with learning how to focus on one’s breath, introduces the student to the world of tranquility that lies deep within every one of us; the place where we can take refuge from the chaos of the world outside, and find the keys to self-healing on the inside too.

Everyone, at any age or stage in life can try yoga. As long as you find a good teacher who has the time to consider your personal requirements, and help you to grow into someone who learns about their own body, and how to move without pain, restriction or weakness, and how to turn down the noise of life and benefit from inner calm and peace.

So if you would like to join a class, please remember that most yoga teachers and their students will welcome you with open hearts as a fellow traveller on a wonderful journey. Come on in, climb aboard your yoga mat and don’t look back.