There are a few things I kind of wish I’d known when I set up my first yoga mat. I purchased it proudly from Winners for $16.99, it’s bright orange colour soon to be made into a soft, muted brownish tone from all the times my hands and feet would meet the mat. I learned the following things eventually, and like most lessons in life, I learned them precisely at the time I was ready to hear and slowly receive them. But just in case, if you are starting out on your yoga journey, or you are seeking a little bit of insight on what to expect, have a read.
1) Yoga is about making your body feel better, not worse.
I remember hearing these words for the first time from one of my favorite teachers, and they did not compute for quite a while. When I went to a yoga class, when I went to the gym, if my body didn’t feel like it had been pummeled by a wiffle bat, or even a real bat for the span of 90 minutes, then in my mind I hadn’t achieved anything. It would take me another two years after hearing these words to really understand what they meant. Of course I still love a good sweat when I practice, and challenging yourself as well as your comfort zones is definitely a part of it. But yoga is different. You learn to listen to the difference between good discomfort and bad pain. You learn to differentiate between what works for your body, and what makes it feel unsafe. Alignment of joints and muscles, and a nice, long, deep sivasana become key components of the practice. Slowly I have come to realize I can still work my body, but I don’t need to break it.
2) Farting in Yoga – it’s a thing
Confession: I fart because I do yoga. I do yoga because I fart. It’s a constant, inescapable cycle that I now invite you to take part in. Laugh all you want, and many people have, this is a legitimate and frequent occurrence in yoga. People talk about it, comedians joke about it, teachers hear it happening all around them, and yet we still try and hold it in! So much talk in yoga classes is about “letting go”. The way I see it, one of the body’s ways of letting go is flatulating. Even Oprah has weighed in on the detrimental effects of holding in your farts. I understand not wanting to look ridiculous or offend your neighbours, but sooner or later it will happen to you, or to someone you love. And when it does? Be sure to laugh it off and let it go.
3) Yoga is more than just the Asana
That same teacher who said yoga was about making my body feel good, also described the practice of Asana (yoga postures) as the tip of the iceberg with yoga. It’s just 10% of the practice. The other 90% is waiting for you beneath the surface. The yamas, the niyamas, the philosophy, and the meditation. The really nitty gritty, tough to practice, makes you look inside yourself and you might not like what you see stuff, is where it really begins. These things are ready for you, when you are ready for them.
4) You cannot conquer Yoga
When I first started practicing yoga, to me it was about “mastering the pose”. I wanted to find the perfect version of each asana, and be the best there was out there. I would try and feel all the feels, hold all the muscles, go for as much sensation in the pose that I could possibly find. I wanted to make it look as good as I possibly could. Then one day, a very wise teacher said, in the midst of me holding plank as hard as I could for as long as I could, “Yoga is about the middle ground, it’s about finding that 50% zone and hovering there”. Again, this did not compute. I was flummoxed! What do you mean I’m not supposed to give 100%?! Even 100% isn’t enough. In my athletically trained, western mind set if you hadn’t given 110% by the end of the day, you were a failure. Hand in your human card, you’re done, go feel shitty about yourself.
Yoga began to flip that notion on its head. Slowly I’ve come to realize yoga is about self discovery. It’s about seeing what your body is capable of on that given day, in that given moment. It’s about observing yourself, and understanding who you are on a deeper, more compassionate and patient level. Yoga is about bringing you back to yourself; back to the still small voice inside of you that says, “You are enough. You are more than enough”.
I still struggle with these discoveries on the daily. Even so, I wanted to share them with you because they are worth the struggle. They are worth the sweat, the tears, the moments of raw emotion and awakenings that find you when you get on the mat. So go give it a shot. By a new yoga mat. Practice enough to change its colour from orange to brownish black. Just remember – your practice is yours and yours alone. No one else can do it, or experience it for you. So revel in the uniqueness of your own personal discoveries. See what yoga ends up teaching you. Enjoy the journey. You are the destination.
