Is This Right?
The more I get the opportunity to guide students through this beautiful movement piece of the practice, the more opportunities I get to see and watch people explore the body. But, it seems no matter how many times I fight the narrative, I still hear people use the phrases, “Am I doing this right?” “How do I get my body to move like hers?” “What’s the advanced version of such & such pose?” “Is this how it should be?” As a society, we’ve been trained to wait for people to tell us what to do and to reinforce if what we are doing is correct. We’ve been trained to be creative, but in the sense of following rules or adhering to a specific need. We’ve been trained to recognize if something is right or wrong. Our jobs give us evaluations and criticisms to improve. Our friends throw parenting advice in our direction suggesting there’s alternative ways to raise our children. TV shows tell us what to wear making sure we look our Sunday best. School tests us on our abilities to learn and perform. I’ve found, especially in the yoga practice, people are waiting to be told how to do it and begging for feedback on if it’s “right” or how to “improve” and make it “better".”
I’ll say it today, and I’ll say it over and over again, there literally is no right or wrong in yoga. There are no rules. There are no evaluations. There are no tests to determine how you perform. There is no improvement or alterations to make you look like the person practicing next to you. You are YOU. That’s the beauty of it. Everyone’s body is created so incredibly different and you get to choose what works for you! You get to choose what the shape looks like, what the shape feels like, what the shape is providing for you today.
Sure, down dog might be difficult for you this time and the person next to you might be able to literally fold completely in half… who cares? The person next to you might choose to complete 50 chaturangas during practice and your body sent you straight to downward facing dog completely skipping every vinyasa sequence. WHO CARES! There’s no end here, there’s no reward. There’s no participation medal or even a certificate for that matter. This isn’t a competition with the person next to you. It’s not even a competition within yourself. The cool thing about yoga is that no one cares… in a very simplistic sense. No one cares if you can touch the toes or balance on the head. No one cares if you’re doing all of the postures or merely hanging out in child’s pose. No one cares, and you shouldn’t care either. Strength isn’t determined by what you can do. It’s all about the journey! It’s all about what you get to learn about YOU and YOUR BODY as you move it in any way that serves you today… and every single day brings something different.
“As it serves you today.” If you’ve taken any of my classes, you’ve probably heard that phrase a time or two… or even 12 if I’m really feeling the message. But, what does that even mean? “Serves you today.” I’ve heard yoga practitioners talk about finding comfort in every posture. I’ve heard yoga practitioners talk about yoga “not being yoga” if you aren’t comfortable. I’ve heard phrases discussing everything that yoga should and shouldn’t be. In my own experience and education of this practice, yoga is meant to bring to you what you need on any given day, in any given moment. It means finding comfort in the breath while challenging the body and the mind. Sometimes that means you’re putting the body in a posture and it’s uncomfortable. Sure, the breath is there. The alignment is there. The purpose is there. But whew, it is far from comfortable. Maybe it’s bringing you a sense of purpose, a realization that it’s time to lean into the discomfort and sit with the breath. Yoga is just as much mentally challenging as it is physically, so can you use the opportunity you are given to change the conversation?
For those of you who are relatively new to yoga, or back to yoga after a period of the mat being tucked away in a closet, partner the idea with the beginner’s mind. Explore the body’s potential. Can you explore the edge? Can you explore how yoga can feel, through the breath, the moments of rest, through the mindful movement? And to those of you that move your body day after day, week after week, can you explore how a familiar pose offers greater depths? Can you connect more to the breath in every single posture? Can you explore and reveal greater levels of complexity and sensation? Can you think like a beginner and just be so dang excited to move your body that you explore and dive into the depths of the practice? Regardless of who you are or where you are on this journey, can you alter the narrative? Can you be with the body, the mind, the breath just as it is and explore as the practice calls to you? If you can’t, that’s ok, too!
