R U ELASTIC?

Its funny how people always ask me strange questions when they find out I’m a yoga practitioner. They’ll be like “Oh wow! So can you balance on your hands and flex your legs over your head?”, “Oh! So can you put one leg under your arm and the other over your head?” or “Oh you must be super flexible!!!” or “Oh I can never do it, I’m barely flexible!”. . . I can’t help but laugh to be honest because, I don’t just get these comments from people who have never done yoga but from people who practice it in the gyms too. They make it sound like all yoga practioners have the EDS Syndrom!!! (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrom). LOL!

I think it’s high time you understand irrespective you practice it or not, but for the sake of your general knowledge that yoga is not all about flexibility! That can be achieved in a gymnastics class too. Its aim is not to become flexible. So please don’t stress your body by too many aaaahhhh’s and ooouuccchh’s. By doing that you are just working against the principle of yoga :P

Flexibility is just one of the results of practicing yoga. Do don’t worry, with more practice you will automatically become more flexible than what you were when you first started. But let me warn you, don’t get too excited cos just by doing some yoga here and there you aren’t achieving anything when it comes to flexibility. That’s cos you need to work that particular muscle for certain period of time for it to make the flexibility permanent, otherwise you are back to square one. Yoga has slow, but more permanent and healthier results on your health and body.

Yoga does not try to fit us all into one mold; it respects our differences, mentally & physically. Some of the finest yoga teachers have only a very limited ability in practicing the posture. Of these, a number suffer from a chronic disability, yet their study and approach enables them to show more able-bodied people the way forward. So don’t get upset or discouraged if you can’t perform a certain exercise, or stretch or hold a pose longer. Try to do your best and don’t over do it. It’s not about competition; not with yourself, not with others. You achieve more with patience and persistence.

So be gentle with yourself and realize you cannot accomplish everything in a day!