“DIFFERENCES AREN’T DEFICITS,” said population geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky. There are many ways we are different, and that’s okay. Sometimes the differences have consequences, and sometimes they don’t. The differences may become a problem when we either ignore or deny them. They are real, and that is normal. So as in the above picture you will see the differences in the butterfly pose, (baddhakonasana) which one is correct?
Both!
A student may look around the room and wonder “what’s wrong with me” ( top figure), because her knees are not on the floor/mat, imagine attending a yoga class where everyone looks the same in this challenging cross-legged posture, or is told that the pose (bottom figure) is the only and correct way! What if you have never been able to sit cross-legged comfortably? You might try but you may start to feel pain in your knees, or due to the shape of your pelvis and femurs, you will never be able to do this posture in the same way as the bottom figure, and I know this to be true for myself! Staying with your practice is important to find that the benefits of yoga are great and to develop the understanding and acceptance that your body is unique.
How far can you move into a posture goes along with your own range of motion, which of course is different for everyone based on many factors such as genetics, bone shapes and sizes, gender and injuries to name a few. As you notice or perhaps discover your range of motion changing it can be a good experience or a frustrating one. Yoga brings about this awareness again and again as we are changing every day.
Perhaps this check list will help you the next time in class:
Find the Goldilocks position
Use the pose to get into the body, not the body to get into the pose
What are you feeling
The real YOGA is what is happening inside
How you look in a pose is irrelevant
What is stopping you
Come back to the breath and be in the moment
The list above is my teaching mantra every time I walk into my studio.
Namaste,
Enjoy your Journey
Both!
A student may look around the room and wonder “what’s wrong with me” ( top figure), because her knees are not on the floor/mat, imagine attending a yoga class where everyone looks the same in this challenging cross-legged posture, or is told that the pose (bottom figure) is the only and correct way! What if you have never been able to sit cross-legged comfortably? You might try but you may start to feel pain in your knees, or due to the shape of your pelvis and femurs, you will never be able to do this posture in the same way as the bottom figure, and I know this to be true for myself! Staying with your practice is important to find that the benefits of yoga are great and to develop the understanding and acceptance that your body is unique.
How far can you move into a posture goes along with your own range of motion, which of course is different for everyone based on many factors such as genetics, bone shapes and sizes, gender and injuries to name a few. As you notice or perhaps discover your range of motion changing it can be a good experience or a frustrating one. Yoga brings about this awareness again and again as we are changing every day.
Perhaps this check list will help you the next time in class:
Find the Goldilocks position
Use the pose to get into the body, not the body to get into the pose
What are you feeling
The real YOGA is what is happening inside
How you look in a pose is irrelevant
What is stopping you
Come back to the breath and be in the moment
The list above is my teaching mantra every time I walk into my studio.
Namaste,
Enjoy your Journey