Doing Yoga Right

Doing Yoga Right
By Mehtab, Founder of YOGA YOGA
January 2010

When people start practicing yoga, they are concerned about doing something “wrong” or drawing attention to themselves. Even after several months or years, yoga students keep working hard to get better.

In reality, it is very simple to do yoga right.

Here are the five rules:

• Relax. Unlike most exercise systems or mind-body disciplines, you do not get points in yoga for trying harder. You should try easier. If there is any indication of strain, exhaustion, fatigue, or gasping grunting sounds, you need a yoga time-out. The keywords of a yoga practice are Ease and Steadiness.
• Enjoy. To paraphrase an old beer commercial, “this yoga is for you.” You are not doing this for your teacher or your classmates. You are doing it for your own satisfaction and enjoyment. Drop the competitive and self-judging attitude about your performance.
• Share. The people who are most successful in yoga are those who share their love of yoga and their practice with others. No matter how little (or much) you think you know about yoga, there is someone in your life who can benefit from what you know. Show them a yoga posture, share a meditation or breath technique. It will make a difference and help you learn yoga better as well.
• Observe. We are always doing something all day long and getting things done. We sometimes tackle yoga as if it were something else to do and mark off. Next time you find yourself “doing” yoga, step back and cultivate a watchfulness about yourself during your practice. Observe what happens when you let yoga “do” you.
• Be consistent. Yoga several days a week throughout the year is better than a lot of yoga for a month and then none for six months. Be consistent and stick to a regular schedule. This means you make your yoga class days a priority. You show up or you make up. A consistent yoga practice is the most important rule to follow if you want to do yoga right.

And if for some reason you find that you miss out on one of these rules to doing yoga right, just remember: The only wrong yoga is no yoga.