How Practicing That Difficult Yoga Pose Can Enrich Your Life

Yoga can sometimes be challenging. We all face challenges in our yoga practice. Challenges on the yoga mat aren’t usually as hard as the everyday challenges we face in life. What do you do when you tell yourself you can’t do something? How does it make you feel and what do you do about it?

So, what if you can’t touch your toes, stand on your head or bind your hands together in an asana? Or perhaps the challenge is getting on your mat consistently?

It doesn’t matter if you can do fancy yoga poses. What matters is how you learn to embrace what seems impossible. Can you work at something again and again that you tell yourself you can’t do? If you can manifest this attitude on your yoga mat, you can bring this new skill into your life. Imagine how much more you can achieve! You will find that the willingness to step into the space of what you thought was impossible, gradually, yet consistently, gives life more meaning and possibilities. Yoga has taught me patience and perseverance and sometimes I feel unstoppable.

How can you meet the difficulties on your yoga mat? Here are some tips:

• Listen to your body, yoga isn’t about doing more than what you can, it’s about exploring your current limitations, safely and consistently.
• Practice often and appreciate that there are poses you can’t do yet.
• Avoid getting overwhelmed; choose a maximum of 3 yoga poses to work on in any practice.
• If you are going to repeat a yoga pose, do it a maximum of 3 times. If you have done it 3 times, move on.
• Figure out what is making the pose challenging for you. When in doubt, ask a yoga teacher for guidance. Perhaps some other poses can help.
• Keep a sense of humor and perspective. Don’t take your yoga practice too seriously. Remember it’s just practice and just like in life we need a sense of humor. The journey and the humility you learn are much more important.
• Be kind and gentle to yourself; in those times when you feel as though you can’t go any further, just showing up on the mat is enough.
• You may feel resistance, acknowledge it but don’t let it control you.

​As challenging as some yoga postures may seem, the key is perseverance. Listen to your body and safely explore your limitations, don't get overwhelmed, figure out where the challenges lie, don't take yourself too seriously and don't let resistance overpower you. Accept yoga as a lifestyle that needs to be learned and practiced with gratitude and patience.