Sometimes I wish I had a dollar for every time someone said to me ” I would love to come to yoga but I am not flexible enough?” or “my back is no good”. My simple answer to them is that in order to become more flexible or to ease back pain then yoga can be very useful so why not try it if you have been thinking about it?
The surprising thing about practising yoga is that it can and should meet you where you are at. If you have been to a yoga class and felt you just couldn’t keep up, your body ached for days after, you felt bad about your flexibility or fitness and it was the longest hour of your life then chances are you went to the wrong yoga class for you at this time in your life.
My training has been grounded in Hatha Yoga involving postures, breathing practices and relaxation all designed to be modified to suit your body at the place it is currently at. You can practice in a chair, supported by props to make postures comfortable and even omit certain postures and practices that do not suit your body. The key thing about yoga is learning to listen to your body. To pay attention to it’s needs..the sore spots, the stiff spots, the parts of the body that feel comfortable, the breath, your heartbeat and your emotional state. You are asked to feel in yoga both physical sensations and the emotional impact of postures on the body …the release of tightness, of tension. There is no real “doing” of yoga only practising and evolving. Many come for tight hips but discover tightly held stress and emotions all of which can be eased and released through gentle practices. It is not about pain and gain but about openness and discovery.
There are many breathing practices and deep relaxation to soothe the busy mind and stimulate the para sympathetic nervous system. In my own experience when illness left my body to do little more than lie or sit down, I was able to use these practices to relax, to release fear and gradually build more physical movement into my body as it healed.
Yoga gave me perspective on the components of my life and it can do the same for you. Find a suitable teacher, talk to them about your needs, choose a time and place in your own home to practice between classes some small things you learn. Above all remember to be compassionate with yourself. Yoga is much more than a class.
Yoga is not about the shape of your body but the shape of your life
Beechworth Yoga 