Yesterday I was talking with a friend of a neighbor at our yearly street party and when she found out that I was a yoga teacher she told me about a yoga trauma. She said that she tried a couple of classes, but that she was “bad” at it. It turns out that she tried two power flow style classes in a heated yoga studio. Oh MY!
This is not a new experience for me. People tell me about their bad experiences with yoga all the time. As a matter of fact, in most cases, people I meet either look down apologetically and inform me that they “tried” yoga and are “bad” at it or that they don’t like it or drop the apologies all together and say, “Oh, yeah, well, yoga isn’t my thing.”. This breaks my heart. BREAKS.MY.HEART
You can’t be “bad” at yoga.
Really, it is impossible to be “bad” at yoga. You may have taken a class in a style that wasn’t right for you or with a teacher that wasn’t able to connect with you or in an environment that wasn’t the right place for you or any number of external factors made it just not a good experience, but there is no way that you failed at yoga, were bad at it or that yoga isn’t your thing. Yoga IS being human and, unless you are Martha from the acclaimed PBS Kids Show “Martha Speaks”, then you dear reader are human and that means that you are doing yoga right now. You are likely doing the yoga of stress or the yoga of sitting at a desk doing your work or the yoga of procrastinating from the work you really should be doing by searching the internet for information on yoga for procrastination, but you are doing yoga right now.
This is not a commentary on hot yoga, power yoga or any other more athletic forms of yoga because I am happy about ALL yoga. We should all be happy about yoga because when people do yoga that they enjoy they are happier people and happier people don’t contribute to violence in the world. Happy people promote peace in every little thing that they do. So, if you practice yoga and it makes you feel good and happy inside, then I am truly appreciative that you are dedicating time to whatever practice of yoga you prefer. But, the reality is that for many adults, power flow or yoga done in an artificially heated environment simply is not appropriate. It isn’t right for their fitness level or their current constitution and the pace is simply too fast for them to even figure out what is going on. The instructors tend to be trained in a particular sequence and may or may not be prepared to provide modifications or assistance that a beginner struggling to just figure out right and left might be having. Again, this is not a judgement, just a reality for many adults beginning on a yoga path.
If you are an adult and you want to try yoga then there are some “truths” that you need to understand and accept as you start this adventure:
#1: There are many different styles of yoga. The type of yoga that your friend LOVES may not be the style of yoga that is best for you. Personal recommendations are a good place to start, but they shouldn’t be where you end. If you don’t like the style of yoga that you just tried, it’s not your fault and it doesn’t mean that you are bad at yoga. It just means that you need to try something different. As someone new to yoga, it may be difficult to try new styles because people mean different things when they name classes. I suggest that you call different studios or send an e-mail to studios and/or ask yoga teachers that you meet what class or teacher they recommend starting with. Most studios have a free or low cost trial period or reduced price first class or some incentive for trying things out. Don’t be shy about taking advantage of these at all the studios that are convenient for you and then continue your practice at the best one for you. Here are some general guidelines if you are just looking at schedules or online for information. If you are a beginner you may want to look for classes, series or workshops that specifically say “Absolute Beginner” or “Beginner Yoga Series” or “Yoga Basics” or “Level 1” or use descriptive words like: gentle, Hatha yoga, slow, restorative, easy, basic, for everyone, all levels, beginners welcome, etc. Stay away from descriptive words like: power flow, advanced flow, advanced, level 2 or use sanskrit words that you don’t understand.
#2: There is no such thing as “beginner” yoga. There IS such a thing as “advanced” yoga and when I say “advanced” I generally mean that I am going to assume that you have a general awareness of the vocabulary of yoga, some experience with yoga poses, practices and alignment principles. But, a yoga pose is a yoga pose and if you are an absolute beginner then you do the pose for the first time, but the 15th or 150th time that you do it, the pose will be the same. Each and every time you practice a pose it is a little bit different because your body is always different. Even in the same week a pose will feel different if you do it each day—-because of the time of day, because of your quality of sleep, level of stress, level of hydration, etc. While taking a beginner level class IS a good place to start, don’t be frustrated if it still seems new and uncomfortable. Everyone has to start somewhere.
#3: Not all teachers are equal. This is true on a number of levels. First, some teachers graduated from a teacher training program that took place over 9-days at a resort in Mexico and some graduated from a program where they worked on the requirements for the better part of a year and were accountable for teaching practice classes, reading and writing assignments and more. No judgment, but let’s just be realistic about what someone who trained for 9-days while on retreat is capable of vs. a year of effort. Not only that, but most programs have little to no prerequisite so some teachers have been practicing yoga for 20-years and some have been practicing for 2-weeks. Second, you have to connect with your teacher in some way—you like their voice, their style, their banter, the fact that they chant or that they never chant or you like the way they look or smell. Whatever it is, we like who we like and this goes for choosing a teacher too. Since you are not the Dalai Lama (and, if you are, SERIOUSLY?), you don’t love everyone and not everyone is your friend. So, you aren’t going to like all yoga teachers either. Keep searching until you find a teacher you “like”—not “LIKE LIKE”–just “like.” You don’t have to want to take them home with you and introduce them to your parents (actually, that kind of like can be a big distraction), just appreciate them as a teacher.
#4: After a yoga class that is the right class for you, the feeling you have should be AWESOME. You may feel a little confused or that there were some things you felt like you understood and some things were kind of unusual for you, but the feeling in your body should be really good. Your mood should be balanced and energetic. You should feel toned and relaxed at the same time. You should have an emotional and physical sensation that you’d like to have a lot more often. If you feel exhausted, confused, sad, left out and like you somehow were a complete failure, or even that you don’t have the right clothes or ‘gear’ then—-guess what?—NOT the right class for you. Just remember, while in most things the truth is that it probably IS your fault, if you don’t like a yoga class then it isn’t anyone’s fault, but it just isn’t the right class for you. You will KNOW immediately when you’ve found the right studio, teacher and class because you won’t have any doubts about it. You will just feel good and you’ll want to feel that good again and as much as possible. Thank you VERY much!
I teach from my heart in a style that I hope is nourishing to everyone who comes to try my classes. I don’t assume that I’m the right teacher for everyone, but I don’t want anyone leaving my class thinking they are “bad” at yoga. The truth is that living isn’t easy—-we have great big disappointments, sadness, loss and people in our lives that we can’t avoid who annoy the bajeebers out of us (and I’m putting it nicely!). There is traffic, exams, pants that don’t button and pants with missing buttons. And, there are GOOD times too that should be celebrated and appreciated. Our yoga should be balancing. Our yoga should help us create a deep sense of equanimity so that the bad times aren’t THAT bad and the good times are more frequent and enjoyable.
My nourishing Hatha yoga classes for all levels can be experienced in Pittsburgh on Mondays and Fridays from 9:30 to 10:30 am at Mookshi Wellness Center (2nd floor above Biddle’s Escape Cafe, 401 Biddle Avenue–off of East Braddock near Frick Park). I offer FREE phone consultations and wherever you are I’d be so happy to hear from you and discuss the best way possible for you to start a yoga or meditation adventure: 412-855-5692.
Want to Know More? I really like this interview published online by Kripalu with Stephen Cope on yoga and nourishment.
