Just because everyone does something a certain way, it doesn’t always mean it’s right. It took me many years of daily practice and teaching, to gain clarity and insights about certain things that are considered non negotiable truths in the Yoga universe.
Here are some common beliefs you should think twice about:
1. You have to start when you’re young
Don’t let this myth be your excuse. Some of the most dedicated practitioners I’ve met only started practicing after 50. I even know people who started in their late sixties. They were not fit at all at the beginning. Still, a few years later they completed Primary series.
I have a lot of students who are older but keep progressing and transforming themselves through the practice, day after day. Does it take more effort than for someone in their twenties? Certainly - at least at the beginning. But the more I teach, the more I realize age isn’t a limit - unless we allow it to be. What really matters is correct intention and dedication.
Daily practice won’t only make you healthier, stronger and more flexible. It will also make you look and feel younger and therefore more confident. So if at all, it is even more important for older people to start and stick to a daily routine and not give up, despite what everyone else is saying.
It is never too late. Stop wishing you would have started earlier. The time is now.
2. Asana practice doesn't make you strong
In the mind of many people, asana practice is primarily associated with flexibility. While this is true in the case of Yin Yoga, when it comes to Ashtanga it couldn't be further away from the truth. All asanas - even those requiring an extreme level of flexibility - can and should be approached in a way that builds equal amounts of strength in the body. Not only to become stronger but also to stabilize the joints and avoid injuries due to overstretching.
The problem is, not everyone practices like this. Many teachers emphasize flexibility at the expense of strength, pushing their students to the limits. And when students encounter difficulties with arm balances for instance, the same teachers suggest they do drills or lift weights as a complement to their asana practice.
Now, I’m not saying that adding some extra strength training is a bad thing. It can be very beneficial. No problem with that. What’s not true is that asana practice alone won’t increase body strength. It does and it will if you learn to work in the correct way - by engaging certain muscles while stretching their opposing muscle groups, creating both strength and release.
A very good example is Kapotasana, one of the deepest backbends in Ashtanga Yoga. You can do it by dumping into your lower back which usually is the most flexible part of the spine. Or, you can engage your legs and control the movement through your core, side body muscles, hip flexors and thighs, to protect your back and achieve a more harmonious bend. How do you get your legs strong enough for that? By all the previous postures that build strength gradually and prepare you for the more challenging ones.
Let’s also keep in mind that the muscle strength gained through Yoga is not the same kind as the one built by lifting weights. It might be less noticeable on the surface. You won’t get a six pack or huge biceps from Yoga.
But this doesn’t mean you’re not getting strong. You are. From the inside.
3. You must do your “full” practice every day
I will never tire of saying this: “If you can’t do the entire thing, just do something”. Do a few sun salutations, standing sequence, anything really. A shorter practice is not less legitimate. As long as you’re moving consciously with the breath and attempting to still your mind, you are practicing Yoga. And you’re doing your best.
Sure, doing your full practice might give you more satisfaction and make you feel good about yourself. But we don’t practice only to feel satisfaction.
We practice to be good to ourselves so that we have a chance to be good to others. It really doesn’t matter which series or how many asanas you do. What matters is that you don’t allow life’s highs and lows to interfere with the promise to show up for yourself. Everything else is form, a vehicle, not the goal. Keep that in mind and do what you can. Every single day.
4. Heat makes you flexible
Another common myth to debunk. Heat alone doesn’t make you flexible. Flexibility comes from repeatedly and progressively stretching your body. It comes with time and consistent practice.
Sure, heat loosens the muscles temporarily. But they return to their initial state after the heat exposure is over. The extreme flexibility you think you have when practicing in a hot room is artificial, in a way fabricated. It can make you want to stretch more and bend deeper. But this doesn’t mean your body is ready for it. Many students get injured when practicing in overheated rooms because they get carried away and overestimate their range of motion.
Only trust the heat you generate through your own body, by moving and breathing rhythmically. The temperature of the room you’re practicing should be more or less the same as your home’s temperature.
And another thing: don’t become overly attached to flexibility. Don’t reduce your practice to that. Yoga is so much more than stretching and achieving impressive shapes.
5. Asana practice will make you healthy
It won’t. At least not by itself. Consistent asana practice, along with sincere study of Yoga philosophy (Yamas and Niyamas) will help you make better choices when it comes to nutrition and lifestyle. It will make you want to treat yourself with respect. It will make you think twice before you give in to unhealthy and self destructive habits. It will make you more conscious about what food you’re consuming, how you spend your life, what you dedicate your energy to. It will give you the strength to let go of things that are detrimental to you.
In my experience, after a few months or years of daily practice people tend to start making better choices. But it’s not an automatic process. It takes time, patience and perseverance.
On another note, it’s unrealistic - to say the least - to expect your asana practice to fix any and all health issues. Not every health problem is solvable through Yoga (although some are). Also, not every problem is psychosomatic. Resist the urge to believe the New Age rhetoric telling you “it’s all in your head”. Unfortunately positive thinking cannot fix everything, no matter how hard you may try.
Sometimes you need medicine to help you get better. Other times, lifestyle changes are enough. An honest and grounded Yoga practice will hopefully give you the courage and clarity to differentiate between the two and make the best choice for yourself.
