Do you follow any yogis on social media? (Besides me, of course.) I definitely do, and it seems like my Instagram feed is full of yogis practicing beautiful and seemingly impossible arm balances or sitting with a leg behind their head. I’m always inspired by these beautiful photos, and then a little voice starts to pop up in my head, saying things like, “Why can’t you get into that pose?” and “You clearly are an inferior yoga teacher because you can’t just pop up into a handstand in the middle of the room.”
I was falling into the comparsion trap, big time. Then one day, I had a small epiphany while teaching. I always tell my students to make their practice their own, that their pose won’t look like their neighbor’s pose, and the fact that our bodies are all different is part of the beauty of life. I realized that I needed to listen to what I was preaching and work on accepting that my yoga practice is just as good of a practice as someone who can get into more advanced poses.
For those of you who haven’t studied yoga, here’s a little background information. There are eight limbs of yoga as a whole. Asana, or poses, is just one of those limbs. Yes, just one eighth of yoga focuses on the postures you hold with your body. There is so much more to yoga than getting into a perfect scorpion pose, if there even is such a thing as a “perfect” pose.
I’m not saying that posting yoga poses to social media is bad. It’s good to advance your practice. Sometimes we need to push ourselves in order to find out more about who we are. Sometimes a challenge is what you need to find your moving meditation in your asana practice. But, when your practice becomes all about hitting a certain pose or two, you lose sight of what yoga is really about. I know I’m guilty of this, and I want to come clean. Lucky for me, yoga is a journey and it’s okay to take some missteps.
For those of you who are still beginners or whose bodies won’t let you practice certain poses, know that you are just as much of a yogi as someone who can balance on one hand. Ultimately, yoga is about how you feel mentally and physically, two things that won’t show up on your Instagram feed.
Do you struggle with the comparison trap, too?
If not, what have you done to overcome it?
Some of those yoga poses on IG are so ridiculously pretzel-like that I just laugh! I’m not very flexible, so I just do what I can. Great post!
Thanks, Wendy! I’m not super flexible, either, and I’m kind of tired about feeling bad about it. Some people naturally have stretchier tendons and ligaments, and being tighter doesn’t make me a worse (or better) yogi. Power to the less flexible yogis! 🙂
This is so true! (also with the runners) I just remind myself of what I CAN do, not what I can’t
Yes, that too! I often find myself feeling guilty for not running as far or as fast as someone on Instagram and I have to stop myself and remind myself that we’re all at our own places with our running. So tough!
The comparison trap is a slippery slope! Such a great reminder here!
Isn’t it though? I need the reminder myself quite often. 🙂
Good points. I tend to view photos more as inspiration, or a celebration of what bodies can do and personally it hasn’t hit a negative place. It’s easy to get to that comparative, self-judgmental place though. Reminders are do that personal check are always good.
Amen to that. I think for a lot of us it’s easy to lose sight of that inspiration and start to take it in negative ways. Kudos to you for having the mental discipline to not compare!
I find I end up comparing myself with other peoples daily runs. Although I may have gotten in an easy 7 miler this morning, when I open up Instagram and see people successfully completing longer speed workouts, I feel like mine was suddenly no longer good enough. I always try to remind myself of my mothers favorite quote “comparison is the thief of joy”.
Yes, right? I used to do the same thing. “Oh, I’m only training for a half and that person is training for an ultra.” Running longer or faster doesn’t make you a better person, thank goodness. 🙂
I try not to compare myself to others on social media, but it is hard! Working on being inspired by others instead of comparing myself to them 🙂
It definitely is hard, but I feel like when you’ve mastered the art of not comparing, life is so much happier!
Love love love love this. I used to teach yoga and Pilates and my students always told me they enjoyed my class because I wasn’t going around and correcting everyone into the “perfect pose.” So much affects how you go into a pose: height, shoulder and hip mobility, weight, flexibility, etc., and comparing your pose to someone else is only going to detract from what you should be gaining from yoga.
Yes! Every body is different, so why should we expect poses to look the same in those different bodies? And you’re absolutely right, if you’re busy thinking about how your pose looks compared to the person in front of you, you’re missing the point of yoga. 🙂
I love this!!!! I’m a newbie yogi and I can barely do any poses right now (that’s an exaggeration but you know what I mean). I’m literally still focusing on getting my down dog to look more like an upside down V than a U! It’s hard not to compare myself, but it’s also exciting to think about where I might be in a few years once I gain more strength and balance. I love that you said everyone who does yoga is a yogi – I feel more like a runner but I really am loving the yoga side of my life right now!
Glad it spoke to you, Kristen! It’s really hard to let go of the idea that your pose is supposed to look a certain way, and that you’re not a good yogi if you can’t make your pose look the way it’s “supposed to” look. As long as you don’t have any misalignments that might lead to injury, it’s all about how the pose feels in your body. 🙂
Yes! I recent;y wrote about how yoga is SO much more than the physical practice! That is only a small part! The other things matter so much more than nailing some extreme pose. That is not the point of yoga!
Amen, Rebecca! I think so many people associate yoga with the asanas, so they tend to be ignorant of what I like to think of as the “soul” of yoga. So important!
Thanks for bringing attention to the fact that YES there is more to yoga than looking beautiful!
You are very welcome! Glad the message speaks to you, too. 🙂
This article helped me so much. I struggle with it every time I’m on my mat. I always remember that photo with the perfect headstand or that perfect foward bend on instagram. I’m 2 years practicing yoga and I still struggle with this postures. I use yoga blocks to help me. (right now I’m embarrassed for sharing…) I get really frustrated sometimes, without no desire to go to my mat just because I think I’m not good enough. I’m working on healing it and accept my body limitations. And yes, there is so much more about yoga than asanas, and I can say that I’m a new person after I have started this journey afterall! Thank you so much! 🙂