Yoga is much more than stretching. The life lessons I’ve learned on my yoga mat have informed my life in such a profound way that it’s hard to describe.
In this post, I’ll try to describe them anyway!
Here are just six of the hundreds of ways my time on the yoga mat informs my life in other ways (in no particular order):
1. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you can must.
Can I practice the Nemesis Stance, Spinning Triangle, without blocks?
Sure. But when I do this, my spine twists, my chest caves in, my back heel lifts, my eyebrows open, and I get mad because I hate this pose so much *($#).
So many things in life are like that.
Can I run around ragging every day, taking my kids to different activities? Yes. But is this the way to achieve our goals of ease and harmony during an already busy work week? It is excluded.
I can get wearing the same ones worn out women’s running shoes Have I used the last three years? Yes, again. But will it be healthy for my body? No.
Can I have candy for dinner every night if I want? may. I’m an adult, dammit! But is it a smart choice? 🤔
Do you see where I’m going with this?
Sometimes challenging yourself is just what you need. Sometimes you just need to practice the poses that feel good. Other times, you need permission to do less. Or you need to try something different to find more balance.
And my yoga practice has helped me tremendously in making these kinds of decisions skillfully.
2. Let go of what does not serve you.
This little aphorism is repeated so much in yoga classes that it has almost lost all meaning. Release the tension. Let go of the judgments. Let go of expectations. Let go of toxic people.
Let it go, let it go, let it go. It was a cliché, even before Elsa.
And while this instruction is a really great reminder to keep those shoulders away from your ears, consider this:
You can’t command yourself to stop the tension and expect it to work. It doesn’t work that way. We have spent hours (and in some cases YEARS) creating this tension that we carry on our shoulders for years. For most of us, it takes an hour-long yoga class to begin to unravel these things. It takes awareness first. Then skillful movement and breathing. And finally some acceptance, which eventually helps you stop fighting and soften. The tension dissipates just a little bit.
And guess what? When you return to your workout tomorrow, you can do the same thing all over again.
And so it works with life. Want to “get rid” of clutter in your home that doesn’t serve you? You could throw everything out and vow never to let it go again.
But you’re still you.
And you will create the same messy mess again if you don’t work on awareness, skillfully interrupting your patterns and accepting that this mess is also a beautiful part of you.
(Seriously, though, throw out the underwire bra that pokes you and get a new, comfortable one sports bra anti.)
3. Don’t compare yourself to others.
I was recently challenged by a podcast interview. It was with a mom who had managed to build a thriving business as a yoga teacher while having babies under 3 with her. I had this visceral, gut reaction: When my kids were so young, I could barely take care of myself and my little ones! I must have done something wrong.
Then I realized there are so many variables I don’t know about this mom. It’s like looking at Karen in the front row of yoga class with her perfect Handstand. And I feel bad for yours.
Maybe the lady in the front row started working out at age 2.
Or maybe she’s been taking private lessons for 15 years with a yoga teacher.
Maybe she was born able to do that Handstand, but her hamstrings are tight and weak.
We don’t know her story. We don’t know what advantages she had to help her get to where she is. So it’s not fair to compare our poses with hers.
And we don’t know what advantages this mom had with the thriving business either. At least I guess she had some extra hands to help take care of the kids so she could work on her business.
I would never minimize her hard work and accomplishments. But I can celebrate her without putting myself down.
4. Your body is a trusted advisor.
When there are countless choices (35,000 decisions a day for the average adult…much higher for parents) and opinions everywhere, and it’s very easy to doubt yourself.
My time on the yoga mat has taught me that when I’m confused by conflicting advice, when I’m not sure which way to turn, my body can be like a trusted advisor for decisions big and small.
Try it:
When you think about doing something, does your breathing naturally deepen or constrict? Do your muscles feel soft and relaxed or tense? (Check with your usual tense areas). Without any outside input (tips from friends, blog posts or videos on the topic, etc.) what was your first instinct? After gathering more information, do you feel the same way?
We all have blind spots. And having more information is almost always a good thing. But too often we let ourselves be swayed by what we know is right because we can’t explain WHY it’s right.
When there is no clear “right” or “wrong”, trust your body to lead you in the right direction because there is wisdom there that lies deep, even if it cannot be explained.
5. It’s normal to fall.
If you don’t try, you’ll never succeed. But the more you try something, no matter what it is, the more you fail. And that doesn’t make you a failure. It shows you’re trying.
This is a lesson I have had to learn over and over again.
Some days the balance is easy. Some days you fall out of every pose. And what do all beginner yoga students do when we fall? We look around to see if anyone else noticed. But falling out of poses is so normal in yoga class that no one even looks up. After all, everyone is trying not to fall themselves.
Falling is part of the process. This is how you improve your balance. And it is an expected part of any balanced posture.
The same is true in life. Try something new. Screw it. Laugh at yourself. (Because, really, it’s not that big of a deal, is it?)
Learn something. Try again. Repeat until you die.
6. Rest is productive.
I often joke that, as a yoga teacher, I talk about love and light, nonviolence and acceptance…
But I will face you if you try to leave my class before Savasana.
Savasana (Final Resting Pose) is magical. And the emphasis on rest is something I love most about yoga.
Why? Because everywhere in my life the emphasis is on doing more, going further, trying harder and moving forward. And I’ve discovered that you can only push yourself so far before you hit a wall and collapse.
We all want to be productive. But have you ever noticed that in those moments when you’re pushing yourself, you might be able to keep up the facade of “work” but you’re not getting much done? Or the things you do aren’t your best work.
It can’t just be me. As humans, we need to work hard and be productive. And we also need time to rest and recharge. Our body needs rest to rebuild itself. And our minds need rest and time to meander aimlessly through daydreams and whatever thoughts pop into our heads.
This is an important, productive time. And my yoga practice reminds me of this every time I hear those magical words “rest” at the end of a yoga session.
What life lessons have you learned from yoga class? Comment below and share!
