Practicing Yoga: Common Misconceptions

Whenever I tell people that I’m a yoga teacher, the typical responses include… 

“You must be super flexible.” 

“I could never do yoga and sit still for that long.” 

“Meditation is not my thing.” 

“Wow, that’s awesome. I’ve always wanted to learn some poses.”

The answers are endless and varied, which brings me to why I am writing about this topic anyways. We need to clear the air around some common myths about yoga. 

Myth Number 1: Only Flexible People Do Yoga

Truth: It’s quite frankly the opposite. Yoga was created thousands of years ago and the practice consisted of sitting in quiet, focusing on the present moment by anchoring through breath awareness. It wasn’t until the 70s that we really westernized yoga and created poses like warrior two, chaturanga, down dog, etc.

We have gotten far away from the true essence of yoga; to be in the present moment. 

If you’re breathing, then you can do yoga. The physical practice as we know it today is just a tool to help guide students into the present moment. You could be lying on your back in Savasana for the whole duration of the class, and that would be considered doing yoga. 

Another point to mention here is there are so many opportunities to modify postures and take beginner’s classes whether that be at a studio or online. 

A good class will cater to all levels of flexibility — in almost all yoga classes more than 80% of the class is considered not flexible, or averagely flexible. 

Let’s not get caught up on Instagram (you know, that foot-behind-the-head image) and define that type of flexibility as yoga because that’s only around 1% of the population. 

Myth Number 2: I’m Too Anxious For Yoga

Ummm, those are the people who could benefit from yoga the most! Whenever I hear this one, I always dig a little deeper and ask, what do you mean by that? Typically, people say, “I can’t sit for that long. I prefer to go running or do cardio.” They believe that yoga will be too hard for them because it’s not hard enough. 

Here’s the thing, if you’re struggling with anxiety, my guess is your nervous system is in flight-or-flight mode. While running and cardio-style workouts may help with your anxiety, they can also be heightening your nervous system, so you leave the gym even more amped up. Your body actually could benefit from slower, more relaxed movements that give your nervous system a break. 

While there are some forms of yoga where you can sit and meditate for hours, that is not what we see in our typical modern yoga. 

Someone with high anxiety NEEDS to go to yoga. Start with a flow or hatha class because you will be moving, but you will also have an opportunity to breathe slower and activate that parasympathetic nervous system, which will calm and relax you. You are never too anxious for yoga. 

Myth Number 3: The More Difficult the Pose, the Better

This stems from the belief that you have to be good at yoga; you have to be able to do Insta-worthy poses (I cringe as I write this). And that the more challenging the pose, the better you must be at yoga. 

Well — I can’t tell you the last time I taught headstand in one of my classes. 

Fancy and advanced poses aren’t in my language anymore. I’ve seen too many people (including myself) get hurt over trying to do the BIG poses. Remember, the true essence of yoga is creating awareness around the present moment. 

We use the poses in the asana practice to create a sense of presence. The importance of introspection and understanding is paramount, with patience and physical strength coming in second. 

Yoga is a practice. It will always be a practice and can be practiced in a class setting, but it can also be a personal habit that you bring into your life off the mat.  

Those are my thoughts for today, see you on the mat!

 — xoxo Nicole