How strange it is that a practice that is all about LETTING GO should at first reduce so many of us to self-conscious, embarrassed and uncomfortable bundles of insecurity. Why the awkwardness? Why the unease? If you are here for YOGA and to want to reap the many benefits that it has to offer, then the key is letting go!

Here are the top three things that we recommend you let go of in order to get the most from your yoga practice:

1. Perfection: Let go of it now! It’s ridiculous. You will never achieve perfection. The beauty of yoga is that it’s a life-long practice and every single day you can (and will) improve. Stop criticising yourself, your wobbly tummy, your stiff back. The more you are reprimanding yourself, the more tense and stressed you will become and the less able you are to breathe into your positions and relax into your poses. So what if your underpants are riding up above your waistband? Just breathe deeply into your downward dog and feel the energy flowing through you and know that no one is looking and no one else cares. Why? Because everyone else is doing pretty much the same thing as you are – concentrating on his or her own practice.
2. Comparing
   Comparing is another big no no! So what if the girl in front is slimmer, younger, more toned and supple? This is YOUR PRACTICE, your journey, your yoga. We are all so different, varied and diverse, and each of our bodies is our own beautiful instrument. Listen to your body, it knows best, coax it, feel it, breathe through it, reach deeper, grow stronger. This is not a competition. No one is judging who can touch their toes or who can lift their leg the highest; this is a personal journey of discovery and self-awareness. The only person you are competing against is who you were yesterday.
3. Your ‘to do’ list
   Yes, you know what I’m talking about…“What do I need to pick up from the supermarket on my way home? How much work have I got on tomorrow? What shall I make the children for dinner? Have I paid my phone bill?” This frantic list making and jumble of thoughts spinning round and around your head like a washing machine is perfectly normal in a yoga class and happens to all of us. After all, we rush around from home and school and work each day, going from engagements, meetings, tasks and chores and rarely do we actually stop to sit and think, so the temptation is to collect our thoughts and make mental notes during the calm and quiet of yoga. But no! Banish these thoughts from your mind. Concentrate on the here and now. Focus on your breathing, your positioning, listen to your body and tune in to its signals. If you are worrying about either the past or the future you are not where you should be – in the present. Yoga affords you that wonderful moment in time where you are completely aware and mindful.

From anxiety about body image or uncertainty about your abilities to stresses and strains of everyday life that are weighing on your mind, the only way to allow yoga to work for you is to LET GO and embrace.

Lori is a certified in various yoga traditions and influences. She is the founder of Radiant Yoga in Marbella, Spain and holds regular classes, workshops and retreats throughout Europe and India. Radiant Yoga Marbella offers Hot Yoga classes and all types and levels of Yoga for all ages including Workshops, Trainings and Massage Therapy. Contact her at www.yoga-in-marbella.net, [email protected]

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Regardless how you choose to practise yoga and no matter what your goal, the benefits are limitless and there are no reasons not to begin now. Whether you’re old, short, fat, thin, atheist, Buddhist, tall, young or unfit, yoga teaches us that nobody is any better than anybody else. We are all simply doing our best with the tools and instruments we have been given and by continued yoga practice we can finally let go and be liberated of ego. 

If you have never practised yoga and are baffled by all the positions and Indian names or daunted by the prospect of exercising with svelte, nimble young girls or well-proportioned muscular men, do not be fearful. People who practise yoga are just like you: of all ages, abilities and body shapes, and the only way to improve is to keep practising. In this article we hope to dispel some of the most common myths about yoga.

You have to be supple to practice yoga

Ok, so it may help if you can touch your toes and bend your back, but yoga is not a competition. Everyone’s body is unique and each body bends and folds differently. What’s even better is that the more frequently you practise yoga the more pliable and supple you become. As the routine becomes a habit, your body will soften and ease into the positions, and as you improve technically your body will continue to change too.

You have to be young and skinny

Don’t be daunted by social media images and magazines portraying a young, toned and taut yogi, whose slim frame bends and stretches as her body defies gravity. Yes there are plenty of young and slim yogis, but the beauty of yoga is that you can be of any ability level, any age and any body type. A beginner can be forty, fifty or even sixty years old. One of the most important principles of yoga is that there is no competition. We are not in a struggle to be better, slimmer, more toned or bendy than our peers. We are only in competition with ourselves; to be better than we were yesterday.

Yoga is for ‘spiritual people’

Although yoga is at core a spiritual practice and many find that the physical routine of it can become a gateway into spiritual exploration in time leading to a spiritual awakening, it is not a vital component to an enjoyable yoga practice. No matter what is the nature of your beliefs, religion, ideology or lack thereof, there are no rules or requirements in order to benefit from yoga. Apart from the spiritual goals, the physical postures of yoga can be used to alleviate health problems as well as to reduce stress, and even the most stubborn spiritual sceptic cannot deny the physical benefits of this feel-good, low-impact workout.

Yoga is not a real workout

If you think that yoga is just sitting in funny positions and balancing in pretty poses, then you are in for a great surprise. Whilst stretching and balancing make up much of the foundations, yoga classes can be rigorous hard core workouts for the whole body, ranging from hot yoga classes that demand great stamina to intense and concentrated position classes that require great core strength as you use your own body to support your weight.

Of course there are gentler classes, such as Hatha Yoga and other slow-flowing classes, but it is fair to say that the more you put in the more you will get back. The deeper into a position you stretch, the suppler you will become and the greater the change you will notice in your body. So the more you practise and the deeper you go, the easier yoga will be for you. It’s a gentle, unforced way of looking and feeling good.

Lori is a certified and highly trained in various yoga traditions and influences. She is the founder of Radiant Yoga Marbella Yoga studio in Marbella, Spain and holds regular classes, workshops and retreats throughout Europe and India.

Radiant Yoga Marbella offers Hot Yoga classes and all types and levels of Yoga for all ages including Workshops, Trainings and Massage Therapy.

Radiant Yoga Marbella, Los Naranjos de Marbella Local Nr. 1&2 29660 Nueva Andalucia, Marbella www.yoga-in-marbella.net, [email protected]

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