If you’re someone who thinks “I’d like to try yoga but I’m just not flexible enough” then you are not alone! There are infinite pictures on the web, Instagram, and yoga magazines of flexible people performing seemingly impossible feats of body contortions. How are we to ever achieve the “ideal” posture when some days it feels impossible to roll out of bed without pulling a muscle?
There’s good news and bad news. First, the good news… The good news is that there is no bad news! You may never be able to grab your ankle and bring your foot up to your head while standing on one leg. Want some more good news? Who cares! You don’t get an award for completing a crazy posture. And you don’t get demoted from your status as an awesome human being if you can’t. That’s the beauty of yoga.
Yoga meets you where you are, and we all know that can change from person to person and from day to day. One morning you might wake up feeling energized and refreshed, ready to tackle your day. The next morning you may not be able to turn your head to the side without feeling your neck ache (true statement!). Surprisingly, yoga doesn’t mind either way. It’s about what feels good in your body. As long as you are communicating with your body, and listening to what it has to tell you, then you really can’t go wrong.
Thankfully, someone (B.K.S. Iyengar to be precise) understood that not everyone would be able to twist their body into a pretzel, and thus developed the use of props. Can’t touch your toes? Reach towards a block (or thick book). Can’t touch your fingertips behind your back? Grab a strap (or necktie). Do your hips, knees, or back get sensitive when you sit cross-legged? Prop yourself up on one or two blankets (or folded towels).
There are countless ways that props can help with yoga, and we’ll be covering them more in-depth here on the blog, and also weekly in our in-studio classes.
The point is that no one expects you to be on the next cover of Yoga Magazine, and you shouldn’t expect that either. So, show kindness (ahimsa) to yourself and go easy. Let yoga be what it can be for you, a gentle way to move your body, increase flexibility, mobility, and strength. And you never know, you might surprise yourself the next time you try crow pose.
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