Before each session begins we offer a week of free sample classes.\u00a0 The purpose of these classes is to introduce people to yoga and to our yoga studio.\u00a0 The classes are very basic since there is usually a mix of people ranging from the very fit to those who have not exercised in years.<\/p>\n
In a sample class several years ago a marathon runner chose a spot at the back of the room. A few minutes later a former ballet dancer set up beside him.\u00a0 As part of the class we did the hamstring stretch pictured below. The marathon runner lifted his leg about a foot off the floor. The dancer lifted her leg up, held her foot in her hand, and brought it back over her head to the floor behind her. In essence, she did the splits upside down.\u00a0 The runner looked over at her and then at me in a mild panic as he struggled to raise his leg higher.<\/p>\n
Obviously, the runner and the ballet dancer had very different bodies.\u00a0 Both had spent years competing in their chosen activities and their bodies had become as strong and as flexible as the demands of their training required.\u00a0 Both were also very competitive and spent the class watching each other.\u00a0 Because of the differences in their bodies, it was an unequal competition.\u00a0 Some poses were easier for one, some for the other.<\/p>\n
Yoga is not competitive, but at times that is hard to remember.\u00a0 In the physical form of yoga that we practice, competition does not work.\u00a0 Most poses require a combination of flexibility and strength.\u00a0 Through lifestyle, injuries, accidents and age, we all develop different areas of tightness and flexibility, weakness and strength.\u00a0 Though the dancer and the runner were the most extreme examples I have seen side by side, in every class there is quite a range. Often I see people sneaking glances at each other, comparing their poses to others.\u00a0 The attitudes range from \u201cI am better than she is\u201d to \u201cI am not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, in yoga classes, there is the choice not to compete.\u00a0 In the end, what is the point?\u00a0 The person with the most flexible hamstrings wins?\u00a0 As far as I have seen, no one receives a new car, gets a million dollars, or is instantly enlightened solely because they are flexible. Instead, the gain is more personal.\u00a0 More flexible hamstrings allow more movement in the hips which over time may relieve an achy lower back.\u00a0 There is also just the simple enjoyment of watching the changes in your body as you continue your yoga practice. It does not matter what everyone else in the room is doing; your challenges and gains are yours and yours alone.<\/p>\n
All of us at some time in our lives have been in a competition, whether it is in school, sports or in our job.\u00a0 The playing field may be level or there may be obvious inequities, but any time there is a competition, there are winners and losers and no one wins every contest.<\/p>\n
We have a choice in how we view our world.\u00a0 Do we immediately make every situation a competition? If so, is it necessary or does it create anxiety and stress?\u00a0 There is a thrill in winning but losing is not as much fun.\u00a0 In a place like a yoga class where no one can \u201cwin\u201d in every pose, is the competition worthwhile or does it lessen the enjoyment?<\/p>\n
In many cases how we view the world determines our experience of it. As summer and vacations approach, see if you can simply take pleasure in an activity just for the joy of it with no attachments to the outcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Before each session begins we offer a week of free sample classes.\u00a0 The purpose of these classes is to introduce people to yoga and to our yoga studio.\u00a0 The classes are very basic since there is usually a mix of … Continue reading