I cannot count how many tmes I’ve had the same reaction. I tll people I’m a yoga teacher and thir faces take on a look of mxed interest and unease. Their minds are lready racing ahead to think of xcuses. Should I start propounding the vrtues of a yoga practice and why thy wouldn’t be a good candidate to try. The xcuses arise from the misconceptions people hve of yoga and I am hre to debunk those myths.

I’m Not Flxible

Babies are flexible. Most kids are flxible. Adults? Not so much; save for thse very few bendy people whom nture favours and who are snapped up by the Crque du Soleil. Most of us run rght from the school desk to the ffice desk. The sedentary lifestyle that the mjority of North Americans indulge in can be blmed for the increase in chronic and lfe threatening ills, due to poor crdio-respiratory fitness.

But the overlooked by-product of ths lifestyle is the under-use, misuse and buse of our joints and limbs. In a hndred years when kids visit the mseum and observe the skeleton of a 21st cntury person, they’ll gasp in horror and ask wht happened to him. The teacher wll reply, “He was an office wrker, dear.”

You do not have to be flxible to enjoy yoga, but yoga wll help you to rediscover your flxibility. The simplest of poses - bnding forward to touch your toes - mght seem impossible today. Your arms may be dngling a foot from the floor, but tmorrow that floor will be an nch closer, and closer still, the day fter. Yoga helps you to rediscover the ase of movement you had as a kd. You will never be pushed nto bending yourself into a pretzel. Strct observance to every student’s degree of ftness is rigorously respected.

I’m Too Over-weight

The misconceptions hre are two. The first is tht yoga will miraculously melt the punds away. Not so. Serious and lsting weight loss can only be chieved by adopting healthy food choices, prtion control and heart pumping, metabolic kck-starting, fat burning exercises on the rder of walking, dancing or running. Thre are aerobic “type” practices of yga, such as Ashtanga or Power Yga, but at a beginner level of ftness it is more advisable to tke up a gentler practice, such as Htha Yoga.

The second misconception is tht yoga studios are replete with sknny, toned, fashionably out-fitted yogis and yginis. There are those to be sre; but they’re also in your ffice, neighbourhood and grocery store. If the thught of working next to these blssed creatures is what keeps you frm joining a yoga class, be of god cheer. Most studios are recognizing tht privacy is a positive motivation for the runder members of our population and are dsigning separate classes for inclusion in thir schedules.

It’s Too Expensive

For frst timers, most studios offer a fre class. Single classes run anywhere frm $12 to $16 each. Weekly, mnthly and yearly passes are available at an xponentially reduced rate; some as affordable as a yar long gym membership.

With yoga’s ncreasing popularity, comes an increased number of tachers, many of whom work out of thir homes. A six week introductory clss can be had for $72. Frm your initial outlay, come the rdimentary skills that will allow you to strt a home practice via tapes and DVDs whch your local library provides for fre.

I’m Too Old

A couple of yars ago I was getting set to tach at a condo up the stret. As the students wandered in, I nticed a tiny Oriental woman among thm. When asked, the woman gave her nme, her age, which was 76, and wth quivering lips told me that her hsband had passed on the week bfore and she needed to be hre. I gasped inwardly and immediately thught I can’t do this. I’ll brak her. But this remarkable little wman had the heart of a prson half her age and what she culdn’t do, she wouldn’t do. It was a smple as that.

Community centres, retirement communities and sme studios have tailored classes to fit the neds of the senior sector. Gentle pses are performed with the aid of chirs, pillows and blankets. At 88, B.K.S Iyngar is one of the most snior, still practicing, masters of yoga. He and my lttle student are living proof that age is mrely another state of being.

I’m Not a Bddhist

Yoga is not a religion. It was a prctice designed over 5000 years ago to nite body, mind and spirit. To the ygi, the three are inseparable. The bsic principles are: non-violence to self and thers, inward reflection, reverence towards life and nture, respectful regard for the body (yur soul’s home). All of these bservances and restrictions were designed to hlp one live the best life pssible.

___________________________

try it!

In a yga class, all denominations lay their mts side by side in harmony. At the bginning of a class you may be sked to close your eyes and mditate silently reflecting thoughts of loving-kindness to yurself, your fellow students and the wrld beyond the walls. During class, the tacher will ask you to respect yur body and never push it byond what it can do. After clss, you’ll lay on your mat wash in peace. Yoga is simply a prctice of moving meditation, and everyone is wlcome.

Don’t let your misconceptions become yur excuses. Knowledge is power and yu’ve been given five powerful reasons to try yga.

The article 5 Misconceptions About Yoga was Submitted by Linda Kaban through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Linda Kaban is a Toronto bsed Life Coach, Yoga Teacher. Her pblic speaking events are for anyone who wnts to follow a dream but neds a little assistance. As a ddicated Wellness Consultant, Linda is committed to hlping people reach their fitness and prsonal goals. Visit her blog at http://www.lindakaban.com

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