1. Yoga is not a once a month activity. To truly get the full benefits of yoga, you must practice. Consistently. Think of it this way: If you were trying to lose weight, would you exercise just once a week? Whatever your goal is with yoga, you will reach it quicker the more you do it.. same as any other activity. However, this is not to say that if your schedule doesn't permit you to come more than once a month, that you shouldn't come. An hour of relaxation and meditation is better than none at all.
2. Yoga can help you lose weight and maintain the loss. It may not seem cardio or weight bearing but yoga is both. Think about plank pose... not only are you lifting your entire body weight, but you are breathing while you do it. Think that's not cardio? Remember aerobics? Aero... Air? Trouble is, most folks don't practice consistently enough to see the results from their practice. See #1. It makes me sad to see people torturing themselves in a gym class, thinking they have to be unhappy to make themselves fit-- does that make sense to you? If you like lifting weights and running, by all means do it, but if you don't, try yoga. You will be surprised. The practice of maintaining presence is very helpful for making food choices as well.
3. Yoga is not nap time. Every single pose in yoga is designed to relieve toxins, break up energy blocks and create balance and stability to your body and mind. The relaxation pose at the end of class is a time for your body to assimilate the process and to achieve a meditative state. However:
4. Yoga and Meditation are one. Yep, every pose... not just the relaxation at the end. The instructions to put yourself in an uncomfortable position and breathe through it is the same. We are all different. For some of us, relaxation pose is the toughest because we must keep moving... while others have a harder time just holding a pose without getting antsy. Others find a flowing sun salutation more challenging because they have to have complete silence and lack of movement to concentrate. This is exactly why we do so many different things in each class. We are perfecting our concentration skills, in all areas, hence learning to meditate... no matter what. Think of a balance pose. Think what happens when you lose focus, whether in your mind or with your eyes. Meditation is the same.
5. Every Bit of Yoga is a Metaphor for Your Life. I have literally had people walk out on me in disgust upon suggesting that how they approach a Warrior pose is how they handle crisis in their life. Read #4. Do you have to keep moving? Do you get antsy if you are still? Can you concentrate if there is chaos around you? Are you balanced? If you have any doubt about what's really going on in your life, come to yoga, it will give you the answers. The pose gets tough, do you bale out? Or clench every muscle in your body and hold on for dear life? Learning to hold a pose using your breath to keep you calm and relaxed is great training for life. We cannot control what is around us... but we can learn to control our response to it.
6. There is No Substitute for a Group Yoga Class. Sorry guys, this is not about money. Now, I am not saying that Wii Fit Yoga and Fit TV Yoga doesn't have it's place. If you can't get to a class, sometimes a DVD makes all the difference to keeping up your practice... I do them myself all the time. BUT the exchange of energy and smiles and the opportunity to spend time with like minded spirits cannot be surpassed. Plus, the opportunity to have a qualified teacher look at your poses and help you make the adjustments needed can be the difference between pain and pleasure. Which brings me to the next one...
7. Yoga Should Not Hurt. If you've been to one of my classes, this is no secret. If it hurts.. you are doing it wrong. Period. Part of the discipline of yoga is staying present to how your body feels..to honor your body, as well as challenge it. We find our edge, the place where we are working hard but not feeling pain. We hover there, waiting for the muscle to adjust, allowing us to go deeper... if the muscle allows... if it doesn't, we don't insist. Patience. When the muscle is ready, the flexibility will come. You must build up to the optimal level and, well....
8. You Cannot Practice Yoga Sporadically and Expect to Maintain the Optimal Level. I've seen it over and over. Person, let's call him Fred, comes to yoga consistently for a month. Now, Fred makes huge strides in his strength and flexibility, surprising himself at how quickly this occurs. Then Fred takes off a class... or three. Or seven. He comes back in, expecting to be exactly where he was and promptly hurts himself. Over and over again. So then he stops coming to yoga and revisits all the pain and trouble that brought him there in the first place, mentally and physically. Truth is, no matter where you were, if you do not practice consistently, you cannot expect to be able to maintain that level. The good news is once you pick your practice up again, you will quickly get back to where you were... but not if you insist on injuring yourself. Again, patience, grasshopper...
9. Everybody Can Do Yoga. Everybody. No matter how old. No matter how inflexible. I can't tell you how many times people have said to me, "oh I can't do yoga, I'm not flexible." WHAT? Did you come out of the womb able to walk? Like, how did you learn to do that? Ohhh, that's right... PRACTICE. That's why we call it practice. You may not be able to do what Suzy the acrobat next to you is doing but part of yoga is embracing what you can do. It doesn't matter that you have to sit on a chair to do cat and cow, do you think your spine cares? Nope, just your ego. Your spine is happy with the movement. And think about it, who do you want to make happy? Your spine? Or your ego? What's your ego done for you lately?
10. Yoga will Improve Your Bad Back, Shoulder, Knee, Hip, etc. This is tricky.. note I didn't say FIX. And notice rule #7. If you do not follow rule #7, yoga will help make your problem worse. Should you stop doing yoga? No. Should you learn to embrace rule #7? YES. I have had folks stop doing yoga because they thought yoga was injuring them (course, the suggestion that they were injuring themselves did not go over well) and then their problem became much, much worse. Mentally and Physically. I have also had folks who achieved dramatic results, "curing" their injuries, only to stop their practice cause they were better and guess what? Yep, they just re-injured their injury. Sigh, See rule #1. Yoga isn't a cure. It's a lifestyle. It's a practice. It's a discipline. You have to do it for it to work. You stop doing it, it stops working. I have had students who have had surgery, foot in a boot, come to yoga and do what they could... not even half of what the rest of the class could do. Was it frustrating for them? Yes. Was it useful? Absolutely! Not only did it help them recover quicker.... it taught them to focus on some of the other really important parts of their practice... like patience, acceptance... tolerance, embracing the breath and where you are today.
So there you have it... the down and dirty truth. If you want to learn mindfulness, get a strong, flexible body and spirit, come to yoga. But know that the results will definitely be based on the effort you put into practicing.... and it won't happen overnight. But stick with it and you will be amazed at what you will accomplish. And who you will become.
Namaste' with Love, Linna
This is us at the Southernmost point in the USA...