To me, this is like someone saying on their first day of a swimming lesson “I cannot hold my breath, I won’t be good at swimming.” What do you learn the first day of swimming? To hold your breath, to use it, manipulate it to be in your benefit.
Well, you wouldn’t be expected to dive into the deep end on the first day now would you? Similarly, you’re not expected to be flexible the first day of practicing yoga. It is a journey, a practice. Coming to your mat once or twice a week, and breathing into the posture for where you are that day and that time.
Climb the ladder one step at a time than attempting to jump to the top. Enjoy each step of the journey. Why?
Because even when you get to the top of the ladder, your pinnacle or goal of flexibility, you’ll either discover you’ll need to work to maintain this level of flexibility or explore new depths of your flexibility. With great flexibility, you may also discover it must be balanced with strength.
Ohhh.. Nice, getting all flebile from that yoga? Well, like a push puppet toy, if you release the button on the bottom, the length of the bands increases and provides no structure to the bones. So, what should we do?
Ensure you’re balancing your flexibility training with strength training.
Like there are various forms of fitness, there are various forms of yoga. Some are geared towards increasing flexibility and some more towards strength:
- Vinyasa – strength focused
- Ashtanga – strength focused
- Hatha – length focused
- Bikram – strength and length focused
Takeaway: Yoga is for everyone, regardless of how flexible you are! So, see you on the mat soon. 😎
What’s next? Ever think or may hear from others that “yoga is just stretching, it is not a workout.” Let’s dive into why that is a MYTH!
