Yoga is for the Willing

DHARMA TALK - SEPTEMBER 10/12, 2017 I HEART YOGA / VERONA YOGA STUDIO

Saying you are not flexible enough for yoga is like saying you cannot take a tennis lesson because you cannot hit the ball.  How many times do we hear this from our students as teachers and from our own minds as yogis or students?  Often we are inundated with images we see on social media of what to our minds' belief are perfect bodies doing the most incredibly amazing poses.  But remember, these people started somewhere, at some point they were not flexible enough to get into those pretzel like poses.  What we cannot see is the amount of dedication and patience that one had to do to attain that pose.  Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be flexible, strong, or fit to do yoga.  YOu simply need an open mind and heart.  With an open mind, the body will follow and the flexibility will come.  Over time you will naturally become flexible, strong and fit if you are willing to put in the effort.  

For the next hour, I invite you to trust in yourself, abandon the ego and just allow yourself to be in the moment, accepting where you are or where your flexibility lies in your practice. Not worry about the person next to you or anyone else in the room for that matter.  Flexible or not, yoga is for all.  Yoga is for the willing.