8 Common Misconceptions of Yoga
“Yoga is not just an exercise. It is a process and system through which human beings can find their highest possible potential.”
Tree Woman by Daren Thomas Magee, Real Fun, Wow!
Myth #1: Yoga is only a physical practice.
When you think of Yoga, chances are you think about exercise and that’s because the industry sells it that way to our body obsessed culture. However, Yoga is far more than a physical movement practice. The physical practice is one limb in the large tree of Yoga. It’s an important limb and sets the foundation for others to occur and flourish; but let’s not forget that it isn’t everything.
Myth #2: Yoga is only for flexible people.
So insanely wrong. Again, Yoga is not about being physically capable of achieving the splits or some pretzel like shape with your body. In fact, there is nothing advantageous about being flexible while practicing Yoga. Hyper-mobile individuals should practice with care so they aren’t overly relying on their flexibility and causing damage to their joints. Yoga is for every body. Consistent practice will increase flexibility. Yoga is for non-bendy people as well as advanced twisters.
Myth #3 Alignment is universal.
No, no, no. All bodies were not created the same; therefore alignment can not be the same for every body. Your body may need a wider stance or a shorter stance depending on the posture. And that’s O.K. and perfectly normal. No one should feel any amount of failure, shame, or get injured in the process of trying to achieve full variations of all poses.
Again, there is so much room to improve one’s physical practice through consistency and dedication, it’s life changing. But at the end of the day, you know your body and what works. Trust yourself.
Myth #4 Yoga is only for women.
This is cringeworthy. Just because it has been widely marketed this way doesn’t mean it’s true. Yoga is about linking movement with breath, self-study, loving kindness and more. There is no gender barriers to yoga.
Myth #5 Yoga is time-consuming.
Yoga is not something you do every morning or night. Yoga is a way of being. Yoga is not meant to be compartmentalized. Stressing about having the proper amount of time to do your sun salutes is not the way of Yoga. Yoga is not contained to the mat. Yoga that liberates spills into every nook and cranny of your life. It is not time-consuming, it just is.
Myth#4: All yoga is the same.
Today, there are many, many different schools of thought and different styles of Yoga. There is Restorative Yoga, Hatha yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Hot Yoga, Karma Yoga, Raja Yoga, and more. Some focus on philosophy, others focus more on asana or alignment. Some teachers move fast, others slow. Some play music, others prefer silence. So if you found that a class or teacher wasn't right for you, then let me encourage you to keep seeking. All Yoga is not the same.
Myth #7 Doing Yoga will make you happy.
Sorry, not entirely true. In fact, a lot of Yoga will push you to your edge. The Yoga I practice brings up a lot of uncomfortable feelings that are not easy to sit with. Although with consistent practice and dedication, Yoga can certainly be a path to happiness.
Myth #8: Yoga is a religious practice.
Yoga does not belong to one religion, but because its roots are so closely tied to Hinduism it often gets misidentified as so. The term yoga first appeared around 1500 BCE in the Vedas, a collection of sacred Indian scriptures broken down into you hymns. Here yoga was first described as a yoking or a disciplne. Vedic Yoga is connected to spirituality and ritual, with asana developing later. Since then, yoga has developed in various forms across several different cultures. Although there are mantras, chants and images of specific deities used throughout yoga, you do not have to use those practices to benefit from yoga.
Yoga is not about outer worship; it’s about inner exploration.
