How To Win At Yoga.
And at Life.
Ok folks. Please disregard my click-bait-y headline and listen up. I’m only going to say this once. (And then again in a lot of different ways.)
YOGA IS NOT A COMPETITION.
It does not matter what is happening on the mat next to you. This is YOUR practice, your unique journey. You owe it to yourself to make it all about you and exactly what YOU need right now. (That’s right, I’m giving you permission to be selfish!) So let go of your ego, your ideas of what your practice is “supposed” to look like, your competitive inclinations…and just let yourself be where you are today.
Also. Yoga is not a linear journey. Maybe you’re thinking, “Ok fine, I’m not here to compete with anyone else. But I’m damn sure going to compete with myself! I want to get better each time I practice!”
NOPE.
That is SO not how yoga works. I mean hell, that’s not even how your BODY works! Look, it really doesn’t matter what happened the last time you were on the mat. Today is a different day, your body is feeling a different way. Some days we’re tired, some days we’re full of energy, most days we’re somewhere in between, and every day is different.
Yoga is about learning to understand the messages your body is sending you, and giving yourself permission to listen and respond to them.
(Rather than powering through or numbing out with the help of caffeine, Netflix, Ambien, Prozac, alcohol, weed, etc…) Yoga then offers you a set of tools that you can use to respond to those messages effectively. You want to get “better” at yoga? Then do a better job of listening to your body and respecting its wishes.
So drop the competitive bullshit. Ignore the “inspirational” nonsense being peddled by those pretzel-people on social media and trust me: you’re not doing yourself any favors by pushing yourself harder than your body wants to go. (Have you ever looked into the many injuries sported by those “famous” yogis? Not to mention the regular occurrence of injuries among those who regularly practice some of the, er, more aggressive styles of yoga? Yeah, that’s not a coincidence folks.)
So what if the gal next to you kicked up into a forearm stand, and that’s what you did last time too? If you’re a little less energized today and just want to stay in your dolphin pose, that is more than just OK — that is EXACTLY what you should do. So what if that dude in the front row is jumping back into a full vinyasa every. single. time. it’s offered? If you’re really craving a child’s pose this time around, or every time around, then for heaven’s sake take it. So what if last week you could easily touch your toes and this week your hamstrings are feeling rock-hard and your fingers are dangling well above your ankles? Just bend your knees and find the version of the pose that feels best for you today.
And the flip side is absolutely true too. If you’re full of energy today, then have the courage and faith in yourself to try something new, go a little deeper, stay a little longer. And yes, there will definitely be moments — many of them, in fact — where you notice your body doing things it couldn’t before. And those moments are really freaking exciting! (My heart still gives a little leap every time I have one of those moments, and I’ve been practicing for almost ten years!) Just don’t tell yourself that that’s what needs to happen every time you come to the mat.
Despite what the Instagram yogis of the world would have you believe, yoga is not about inversions and arm balances and pretzel-like contortions. Seriously, that stuff is like .1% of the entire pool of things that make up “yoga.” Every time someone tells me they’re “not good at yoga,” my response is the same:
The only thing it takes to be good at yoga is to show up on your mat and pay attention to your body.
As you get more comfortable with this practice on the mat, don’t be surprised if you soon find that the rule also applies in your everyday life.
