Yoga Expectation Vs Reality
Busting the Myths and Revealing the Mind Blowing Facts!
At some point or the other in life you might have come across someone who felt that yoga isn’t
for them because their body is not flexible enough or met/seen someone who thought their
body is too flexible and can do any asana. When we speak of yoga there are numerous
expectations that come to our mind not all of them are essentially true like the ones
mentioned above. Hence, Today Adhiroha is on a mission to uncover the myths
surrounding yoga, yoga is and was and will be for everyone, it's our mission at Adhiroha
to throw light on the right and discard the wrong! So here are 4 Mind Boggling facts about
yoga that are absolutely different from our expectations!:
Expectation, Myth 1. Yoga is for slim and flexible people,
Fact : As per Patanjali’s yoga sutras (To know more about Patanjali, refer to our blog:
Evolution of Yoga). Yoga is not at all about being
flexible, it is rather about stable body and calm mind and blissful soul. We also say this
by our experience that it is not the body that is stiff it is the mind and the soul. Once we
conquer the mind and make it stable the body follows. You are not completing with anyone
but yourself. Don’t let others distract you. The magic is focusing on your self and not looking
beyond your mat. Most people begin yoga without body flexibility and gradually develop the
same by focusing on their breathing and exercising their mind. Every person nowadays who
tells us that they cannot touch their feet and therefore will not do yoga, should know that
proper breathing, alignment and patience can work miracles and yes, even those who think
they will never be able to touch their feet will eventually be able to do the most difficult
asanas.
Foe people whose body is way too flexible, a word of caution: SLOW DOWN! Do not overdo the
pose or stretch way too far. There is more possibility to injure or hurt their body beyond repair if not
practiced in the right way under the guidance of a good teacher.
Last but not the least when doing asanas or kriyas always be responsible for yourself, listen to your
body and trust your instincts.
Expectation, Myth 2. Yoga shows quick results
Fact : Yoga does show quick results but there’s more to it ! Yes, yoga does show us results in the
very first session, agreed. We all remember our first yoga session and how amazing it felt
afterwards. The relaxation and rejuvenation was out of the world. However, yoga is not all about
these short-term feel good benefits and we all must understand that. Yoga is a spiritual revolution
that becomes a part of us, it connects us and binds us and it should be looked at from this
perspective. That’s why all yogic gurus stress the importance of oneness of body and mind. The
biggest benefit of yoga is the sanctity it offers to our life and to experience this it is very important
that we give time to our yogic practice and be patient with it. Perseverance is the key to being
successful at yoga. The joy one attains after successive attempt of an asana and slowly observing
one's body becoming more flexible and healthy is absolute happiness and to experience such state
of eudaemonia, Yoga can’t be done in haste. And for the ones thinking that yoga is a get slim fast
scheme, let’s break it to you - ITY ISN’T. Though it's scientifically proven that yoga helps reduce fat
on an escalated rate it by no means makes yoga ultra-easy or a simple activity.
Expectation, Myth 3. Yoga happens only on the mat
Fact : Yoga happens 24/7 This fact is something that not all of us realise but it's very pertinent to
yoga as a practice. At Adhiroha we believe that yoga is not only a practice that is limited to the mat
but it moves way beyond to the way we live our lives. Hence, at Adhiroha we provide our students
with a complete yogic lifestyle to begin with. (check out this blog for more info- attach 5 reasons
why adhiroha blog here) When you realize that no matter where you are or what you are doing,
you are practicing. There is a special practice for each moment of the day, we are more aware of
our actions, we are more cautious and have austerity of any action we take in our life. In fact the
mind boggling part is that; the "bible" of yoga “The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali” outline specific ways
and suggestions that we should incorporate in our daily life. For instance, it elucidates upon how
we can maintain a positive radiance by ignoring negativity and concentrating our yogic energy on
positiveness thereby creating a surge of energy and vibrance. Another example of yoga in daily life
is that if there is a measurement by which you could see if a person is practicing yoga through their
kindness and the radiance they exude. They will not make you feel inferior or treat you with
disrespect, they will not be mean to you in person or otherwise, because yoga is a practice that
teaches the value of human life and the sanctity of life itself.
Expectation, Myth 4. Yoga is easy to learn and simple, it can be easily learned online!
Fact : Yoga puts emphasis on Guru and it's impossible to fully learn it online. With the internet
being readily available to us all the time, it seems everything is at our disposal and easy to access
- so is yoga. In Fact nowadays we have multiple channels, courses etc. that assure to teach you
yoga in a quick and easy way. However, these sources of learning are more often than not too
limited in their nature of approach towards the students. Even though they are informative and
promote yoga and maybe a good starter kit, it is apparent that they are not wholesome and do not
provide holistic development of the individual. Many people have taken to such sources of
information and started learning by themselves throwing caution to the wind. And that’s why at
Adhiroha we will be soon releasing a blog on the best online sources to learn yoga from. However,
this impulsive way of learning without guidance and from unreliable sources has caused physical
injuries and in some cases irreversible damages. Yoga might seem to be very simple, but you need
proper direction from a Guru or trained Yoga teacher with experience because in yoga individual
attention and details matter. That’s why Adhiroha offers various Yoga Teacher Training Courses
suiting your requirements. You could check them out here-(
adhiroha.com) So folks, pull
your socks up, tighten your bodies and unroll your mats for your next amazing yoga session