Yoga at Home: Keep a Carefree Attitude When You Practice!

Laura Venecia Rodriguez doing the Lion facial pose - really get silly with this!

When I began yoga in 1970 (yep - that is 4 freaking decades ago!), you did not see articles about yoga in the weekly paper, magazine, or tabloids (such as actor Alec Baldwin's recent engagement to a ravishing 20-something yoga instructor...).

I began yoga back in the seeming dinosaur age when it was rarely mentioned by the media and yoga instruction (at least the kind I was exposed to) seemed to emphasize "going slow- as if in a dream," "pausing between poses," "getting to know oneself," "increasing awareness and alertness," and the like.  It did not focus on competition and perfection.

However, nowadays with yoga studios and classes on every corner in major metropolitan areas and yoga receiving ongoing attention and references, some yoga students seem to take their yoga practice way too seriously.  Metaphorically, at least, they get all bent OUT of shape when their bodies cannot quickly achieve certain challenging poses OR they encounter instructors who may expect too much, OR they become envious of other yogis who seem to have a much easier time.

If this is your experience - STOP right now!  RE-LAX and RE-LEASE all judgments, expectations, and frustrations that you may be encountering with your seeming imperfections.  As I have said in previous posts, INTENTION is way more important than PERFECTION!

Spiritual writer Emmet Fox once said, "To be tense is the surest way to fail in any undertakng great or small...to pursue success (such as in your yoga practice!) is an attitude of mind which may be compared to a clenched fist, a knitted brow, and set teeth,; and htis attitude cannot bring success...The CAREFREE (my emphasis) attitude of appraoch in any endeavor is a short-cut to success.  In music, in sport, (in yoga---I added this!), in business life, many people fail or advanced very slowly because they make hard work of it. They would succeed beyond their wildest expectations if they would treat it as FUN (my emphasis)...Take it easy."

Yes, indeed. You will find your yoga practice much more fulfilling and beneficial if you drop your expectations, desist from trying so hard to achieve a given pose, and if you just take a carefree attitude and focus on having fun as you gain flexibility.  Laugh it off when you lose your balance or feel especially stiff on certain days.  Experiment and see if you don't leap ahead in your yoga progress when you take a carefree approach to it.  It's ironic and a total oxymoron to get all tense, perfectionistic, and judgmental about your yoga practice. As Emmet Fox emphasized, "Loosen up!"

Yours for taking a carefree approach to your yoga practice,

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the beginners' yoga coach

 

Comments

[Nike Air Max]

Practice yoga with joy and laughter. Recently, a number of yoga teachers have been incorporating "laughter yoga," i.e., the practice of deep belly laughing,into their classes to add levity and variety to the class. Life is too precious to get bent out of shape when you can't quite "bend into shape" when you first learn certain yoga poses. Laugh it off and try again the following day!