When I first heard about yoga on the internet, I just scrolled and moved on. Want to know why? Almost everything I saw on Instagram and Pinterest were these insane yoga poses. All of the poses I saw led me to believe that I wasn’t flexible enough. I didn’t start yoga until a couple years later, but looking back, I wish I would have started sooner. I’m sure there are a lot of people in the same boat I was in. I don’t want anyone else missing out on the amazing art of yoga just because of a common misconception. No, you do not have to be flexible to do yoga. Here is why:
First of all, most of the pictures on the internet are of people who have been practicing for years or was already flexible from other sports or activities. Do not compare yourself to anyone else, in yoga or in life. Compare your old self to your new self. Yoga is your own personal journey, so don’t be hard on yourself if you can’t get something the first time or even the thousandth time. Yoga takes practice, just like anything else.
Yoga poses are only a small part of yoga. Most people do not do yoga just for flexibility. There are other things you can focus on as well, like breathing. Yoga is about whatever you want it to be about. You could be doing yoga for peace of mind, to help with stress, or other benefits. You can read about more benefits of yoga here. Even if you do want to focus on poses, you don’t have to get into all of the pretzel-looking ones. It’s okay if you can’t do all the poses just like your instructor. You can always modify to fit your personal needs. Like I said earlier, yoga is your own journey, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you’ve yet to accomplish something like touching your toes.
When I started yoga, part of the reason was that I wanted to get flexible. And guess what? I did. Looking back, not doing yoga because I wasn’t flexible seems silly because yoga itself will help you gain flexibility. If you aren’t flexible but you want to be, yoga is EXACTLY what you should be doing. If you are wanting to improve your flexibility through yoga, here are some great poses to start with. No, you may never be able to touch your toes or do the splits. So what? Yoga is about much more than flexibility. Yoga is about personal growth.
So don’t be scared to go to class or do yoga at home because you’re afraid you’re not flexible enough. There is no such thing as “not flexible enough” in yoga.
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