Published on 08/31/2007

Brampton - Yoga myth #1 shattered! Find out why you do not already need to be flexible to reap the many benefits of a regular yoga practice. The muscles may be stretching to their maximum, but what's happening with your bones?

Brampton - This July, I had the pleasure of attending a workshop in which I had been waiting many months to attend. The subject matter was not all that exciting; unless of course you have one of those stubborn Yoga poses that everyone seems to be able to do, that is, everyone but YOU. The workshop was led by Paul Grilley who has been teaching Yoga and Anatomy for more than 25 years. I was amazed to learn about two totally different sensations that a person can experience when they are not able to go further in any given Yoga pose. Without going into a lot of detail here, suffice it to say we are all built differently, and these differences in the way our skeletons are put together all contribute to whether or not a person will ever do any given yoga pose. While our muscles will almost always stretch and become more flexible with practice, our adult bones do not change shape or length and our joints have finite ranges of motion. Some people have very flexible muscles and unbelievably tremendous range of motion. However fantastic this may be to observe in others, it in no way means that the rest of us are practicing "lesser yoga". The only thing we miss sometimes is the perfection within us, if only we would stop looking for it somewhere else….

My own yoga practice goes back 20 years, and within that time I sometimes questioned why I continued doing some sequences and postures when I was never getting closer to looking like the picture in a book by a well known Yogi, or any other teacher I was studying with at the time. Now I relish in being able to unlock the mystery of challenging yoga poses both for myself and definitely my students!! We can all relax now into where our Yoga is in the present moment. Another of my favourite teachers, Mark Whitwell brings up this excellent point which is that so many of us are often trying to get "somewhere else" as if we are not "somewhere" already! So there is no ideal that needs to be attained, and anybody can reap the benefits with what they are naturally given.

Your Yoga starts with your own body, breath and movement. If your Yoga practice revolves around trying to achieve a posture that feels utterly wrong inside you, there may be a very good reason!As a teacher, I rely on feedback from my students on what they are feeling in their practice. Since we cannot change the person to do the Yoga, I believe firmly in changing the Yoga to suit the individual.I invite everyone to seek out a teacher that listens to their students needs and helps them develop a practice that resonates with their own inner teacher.

Terri Wyllie is a Registered Yoga Teacher who runs Professor's Lake Yoga - a home based studio offering small group, private and semi-private classes. The website is www.professorslakeyoga.com and Terri can also be reached at 416-518-1935 to talk about your Yoga practice.