Am I flexible enough to do Yoga?

Whoever said that in order to take up a yoga practice you have to be flexible?

I have spoken to numerous people who have said, “How can I do Yoga, I can’t even touch my toes?!”

I patiently explain how their logic makes no sense. Surely, the aim of taking up Yoga is to enhance and develop your mobility and flexibility? I know for sure that it’ll be a challenge to see any improvement if you take little or no action at all!

Yogarei believes that the practice of Yoga can be as slow or as fast as you want it to be depending on your current body conditioning, mental state and your personality type. You can have a slow Hatha practice to really work on opening up the different muscle groups in the body, or a Mindful, meditative practice to develop your awareness, patience and focus or you can have an active Vinyasa practice. Generally, we think a combination of a slow, deliberate practice initially (especially for beginners) is a good way to start becoming aware of your Self and to start by grounding down to build your strength upwards. Eventually, you can develop your practice and complement it with Vinyasa classes.

So perhaps it’s challenging to touch your toes at the moment. So what? Fold forward and rest your palms on your thighs and avoid focusing on the student in front of you who can touch his toes. Push your weight down to the Earth and breathe to open up your hamstrings. Focus on your breath and your practice and eventually you’ll feel yourself exhaling further down your legs to your shins. Take your time and be persistent in your practice. Dedicate an hour or two a week for yourself. And Yoga is a great way to do that as it will start to balance out the speed at which we live day-to-day.

Practice patience with yourself. Love yourself. Be compassionate with yourself.