1) I’m not flexible
If I’ve heard this one once, I’ve heard it a million times. People have some crazy idea that they have to arrive at their first yoga class already as flexible as a rubber band. I ask you this: would you expect to show up to your first piano lesson already knowing how to play a concerto? Practicing yoga is what makes you flexible! I have had students arrive to their first class unable to even sit in Easy Pose (seated with legs crossed) and after only a few weeks are able to touch their toes. For the vast majority of people, increasing flexibility is actually not very hard to do, and students are often astonished at how quickly they progress if they stick with it for a bit. Nobody would ever expect you to throw a 95 mph speed ball your first time holding a baseball or recreate a Picasso the first time you pick up a paintbrush. The misconception that yoga is only for flexible people comes from this simple truth - that yoga creates flexible people. If you wish you were more flexible, then take a yoga class!
2) I want a “real” workout
Another common misconception about yoga is that you don’t get a “real” workout from it. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In most of our peak flow sections of class, you’re getting the same amount of cardio as a jog on the treadmill, breaking a sweat, and even getting those muscles quivering. I have been an avid gym-goer and weightlifter for years, and I am still shook by how a Warrior - Goddess - Chair Pose flow can turn my glutes to jelly. Students who arrive to class expecting a gentle stretch may be surprised by how little it takes to get them breathing heavy. Yoga asks you to use muscles that are often neglected, and to use them in new ways, so it doesn’t take any weight or resistance other than the force of gravity to provide a great muscle-building workout. Yoga is also a great compliment to other types of exercise, and can help to stretch out sore muscles after a run and maintain mobility after a heavy lift day. If you think you are too tough for yoga, let’s see how long you can hold that Crow Pose!
3. I’m afraid of looking stupid in front of everyone
Welcome to the club. Haha! Honestly, though, you must think quite highly of yourself if you think anyone is looking at you when they are so clearly busy looking at me (your teacher) and worrying about themselves and what’s happening on their mat space. Ask yourself, are you looking at anyone else other than the teacher while you are doing yoga? Most likely not. The first and last ten minutes of class are typically meditation, so everyone’s eyes are closed. Every single forward fold positions you to only look at the floor or your own legs, and any time you need to balance you’re finding that spot on the studio wall to stare at. Combine that with focusing on the directions, watching the teacher at the front, and all of the other multitasking that goes on in the class and I’d bet you have less that 30 seconds total to do any people watching in your one-hour session. I can’t promise that you won’t feel kind of silly sometimes in yoga (we all feel that way in Happy Baby believe me), but I can promise that it is highly unlikely anyone is watching you feel that way.
4) I’m not skinny enough
I don’t really have any idea what being skinny has to do with yoga. Can you stand? Sit? Raise your arms over your head? Most body movements that are common in most yoga classes are accessible to pretty much any body type. I won’t lie to you and say that all body types can do all poses with ease (Plow pose is not enjoyable for my big-breasted ladies, I know), but these issues happen for a variety of reasons, not just due to a yogi’s weight or size. There are some poses that I can’t do, and I am a naturally thin person. I am a yoga teacher who struggles with a wide-legged seated forward fold. I also cannot comfortably achieve Eagle arms or Cow Face arms, especially on my right side. The beauty of yoga is that, at its core, it is a practice of self-acceptance, self-compassion, and a growing love and appreciation for one’s own body. Yoga is not about how you look, it’s about how you feel; it’s about the inner work that occurs during and after movement. Yoga helps you to get out of that “I’m not enough” mindset and discover gratitude for all that your body allows you to do.
5) I don’t have time
I don’t believe you. What you meant to say was “I don’t make time.” We are all overwhelmed with responsibilities, I get that. I am a homeschooling mom running my own business, helping to run another, and I have bills to pay, chores to do, errands to run, and my list of have-to-dos and should-dos is a mile long. When do I sneak in yoga (aside from when I'm teaching I mean)? I do yoga on the living room carpet while we watch TV before bed. I do yoga, also on the living room floor, during my daughter’s 25 minute-long ukulele lesson every Tuesday morning. I sneak in a little breathwork and a quick meditation every morning at my desk in front of my computer, before the madness of the day begins. I make the time. Sometimes having the accountability of a class can be helpful; Common Yoga offers four group classes per week, one online, and I do private classes anytime in order to meet your schedule. Lock yourself in your bedroom with your headphones on and Zoom into yoga class. Get a friend roped in and carpool to class once a week so you can't bail. Set up one night a week with a sitter or handcuff your husband to the kitchen sink, whatever you gotta do. MAKE the time. No more excuses. I’ll see you at yoga.
Comments