Yoga Isn’t the Answer for Everyone

Do you practice yoga, and does it meet your body and mind where they are?

Yoga, Everywhere

Yoga is an exercise that is extremely well-known and widespread and has many forms. I’m sure that among my readers there are yoga experts, people who practice yoga, people to whom yoga brings relief, and almost everyone has somehow brushed past it. For clarification, in this article I will be focusing on classical yoga exercise, asanas. As you may already know, and as you may learn in my following articles, my entire young adult and adult life I devoted myself to movement activities of various kinds. I thought it was necessary, healthy, and many of them also entertained me. So I certainly couldn’t overlook yoga. I practiced it for a long period. Without a doubt it helped me. When I found a little path that was most pleasant for me. But do I practice it today? I will tell you everything in the following lines.

The Studio Chapter

My beginnings were naturally a visit to a yoga studio. I tried several of them, with friends. It looked like an activity that could entertain me and give me calm. Some of you may remember that in childhood I (unfortunately) did modern gymnastics, a demonstration here. That gave me confidence that I would learn to do any movement and at the same time that my largely artificially created hypermobility would show up as an advantage in yoga positions. And that was confirmed.

I remember the enthusiasm of several yoga instructors when they saw me practicing. Physically I managed to do all the positions that were to be practiced and even something extra.

But it had nothing to do with practicing yoga well, or understanding what it means beyond the shape of the body. Here too, I saw how appearance can matter more than what’s happening inside. Suddenly, no one cared how I actually felt. No one cared that forward bends were unbearable for me, that my head filled with blood, and that I felt sick until the end of class. The main thing was that my poses looked good.

Since I had no interest in being visible, nor becoming an example in yoga classes, and also because the exercise itself at the pace of others simply didn’t suit me (especially those forward bends, terrible!), I stopped going anywhere for yoga. I can vividly imagine the opposite case, where someone starts going to classes and outwardly can’t do it at all, and they are also discouraged that there is pressure for performance and highlighting the abilities of others. And I really visited several yoga studios. The pattern felt the same.

Home Practice

Years later, through a work contact, I found an amazing YouTube channel: Yoga with Adriene. Practicing at home changed my relationship to yoga. I practiced privately for years, and many times it brought me real relief.

I know some experts don’t recommend home practice because people may not do the positions safely or correctly, and someone “should” teach them. I understand that. It just wasn’t my story. I listened to my computer and the voice guiding me, and I could do everything. I didn’t need a teacher to assist me. A professional instructor would probably have helped me improve things, but that was never my priority.

What mattered was something else: as a highly sensitive organism with a sports background, home yoga gave me quiet time with myself. The softness and intimacy of the videos. The freedom to choose a practice based on my mood and physical needs. Over time I learned what my body liked and what it didn’t. Yoga can be brutally demanding, and it probably won’t surprise you that I preferred the calming, connecting practices over the performance-oriented ones filled with forward bends. I practiced several times a week, often in the quiet of the morning before work. When there wasn’t time, I tried to do at least sun salutations.

I used to think yoga itself was what brought me relief. But looking back, I think what truly brought relief was me. The time. The gentle self-connection through movement. It gave me an unforgettable experience of being alone with myself and slowly learning to listen to my body again, after years of being trained to stop listening just to survive gymnastics. Gentle movement with gentle words could bring me relief and even joy. And I could always skip or modify anything that didn’t fit that day. It felt refreshing and calming. For that, I’ll always be grateful. Yoga was part of my path, and I remember it with warmth.

Looking Back With New Awareness

Do you see yoga recommended for back pain? Almost everywhere. Can yoga be great? Yes. Did yoga help my back pain?