"Leave your ego at the door."
"There is no competition in yoga."
"Acknowledge where you are today and accept it."
"Your ego is not your friend."
Or, for you bilingual yogis, "Your ego is not your amigo."
If you've practiced yoga, even if for just a short while, I'm sure you have heard some, if not all, of the above phrases from your teacher. The reminder to let go of expectation and dismiss judgement is repeated over and over again. The goal is to move beyond our ego, so that we can know our true self.
This is so much easier said than done. Looking inward to properly assess where we are (or where we should be) is a very difficult task. We would rather see what everyone else is doing, and then, do it better. We are a people of competition; of comparison. As kids we work to get better grades than our peers. We push ourselves to run faster than our teammates. We crown the prettiest and most handsome at our high school dances. Then it's on to college and snagging the job with the highest income so that we can drive the best car out of all of our friends and have the newest shoes and watches and purses. Everything is about who is better than who.
In the last six months I have seen an obscene amount of yoga photos online. And I love it! I really do. On one hand it has made me a stronger yogi by inspiring me to practice more. It has given me a greater love for these beautiful people who love to do what I love to do. But I have to be real and notice how it has negatively effected me. Just go on to Instagram and scroll through the hashtags #yogaeverydamnday #yogalife or #yogaddict. You will see stunning photos. It is beautiful and it should be celebrated. (Hell, I have even created hashtags like #yogismakebetterlovers and #confidentyogis.) But looking through all of these photos also makes me think things like:
I can't do that! She's such a better yogi than I am.
He makes it look so easy. I'll never be able to do that.
She held that handstand for how long? And in the middle of the room!
That backbend is insane. I was thinking my backbends were strong until I saw this.
She's prettier/thinner/healthier/stronger/wiser/funnier/happier than I.
Wow. What a total bummer.
Yoga was not made to make me feel lesser than anyone else. But that is what we turn it into. It is vital to loose the obsession with what anyone else is doing. When you practice yoga, it is just you and your mat. It's magical to be in a yoga class with other yogis and share that energy, but in the end, your practice is yours and yours alone. Do not concern yourself with how long anyone else held that arm balance or with how deep her splits were. Remember why you started yoga in the first place. It surely wasn't to make yourself feel kind of shitty that you can't do something. It surely wasn't to pull a hamstring while trying to force your foot behind your head because she did it in her photo. It was probably because it made you feel so damn good. You stopped worrying for a short time and stretched and sweated and BREATHED. Get back to that.
OM SHANTI my friends
Check our this article written by Ashley Holly McEachern over at elephantjournal.com
It's a perfect post. Better than mine! ;-)
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