Yoga & you, both unique, so why a one size fits all approach to teaching yoga?

When you think of yoga, what do you think of it?

When there is only one you in the universe, why do we assume that everyone should be taught yoga the exact same way?

Yoga is like you, an individual, which means that your learning style of this activity is also individual.

We all share traits like height, weight, shirts, shoe size, and hair color, and some of these traits are similar to millions of others, but that doesn’t mean your body or history is the same, it is unique to you and you alone.

So why wouldn’t your yoga practice also be unique to you?

It is simple really, what makes us the same in yoga is mats, and blocks, we all wear clothes, have water bottles, etc.

What makes us different is our shape, history, body, injury history, and mental, physical, and health history all these are unique to us and the practice that we embark on is also unique to us even if we are doing the same poses but with modifications.

The “rule of alignments” in yoga classes has become something that people assume is the only way and with that thought, we would have to assume the above “individuality” is nonexistent.

Don’t get me wrong now, we defiantly need to understand alignment within our yoga practice, boxing, martial arts, etc because through knowing alignment we understand our body and its intricacies.

But, when we use alignment, we need to work with the body and its history for that person’s own alignment process.

I am NO scientist, but I have worked with bodies and realized that they need to be seen as individuals not as common object with a one size fits all approach.

Yoga or any other physical activity needs to be understood as our individual bodies journey to fitness, health, well-being, spiritual awareness, basically whatever reason you have, you need to know how your body works and how best to make your body, mind, and spirit connect as one to get the best from everything within.

I would like everyone to understand that you are, beautiful, and unique and so should your fitness journey, health journey, and awareness of self is the best way to do.

Not forcing your body to be like the millions of perfect pictures, not forcing yourself to try and move into poses that cause harm or increase the risk of prior injuries, and certainly not trying to work through pain because a yoga teacher or yourself hasn’t taken the time to get to know your body and the alignment it works with.

Stay safe with yoga and enjoy the journey with safety.

Namaste for now ❤️