The Top 5 Myths of Yoga

Myth #1: You have to be “flexible enough” to do yoga.

This is the one I hear the MOST often and it makes me crack up every time! Of course you don’t consider yourself flexible enough for yoga. You haven’t tried! 

I danced before I ever stepped foot into a yoga class throughout my childhood years until high school, and never really exercised again until COVID. I was 20, and I couldn’t touch my toes. 

It only took a month or two to regain that ability. And sometimes, I STILL can’t touch my toes, especially in a seated position. I have to bend my knees. What matters most is that I’m working towards it, and I feel a little bit closer to touching them the more I practice.

Myth #2: Yoga is “just stretching.”

This could not be farther from the truth! Yes, we stretch a lot in yoga, but even my slow flow classes provide opportunities to challenge yourself. For a brand new student, yoga can be daunting; not just because it’s their first time, but because they’re not used to supporting their body weight or balancing on one foot. 

This misperception also perpetuates from yoga practitioners and teachers, too. As we start to practice consistently and in different types of classes, we quickly discover that yoga is dramatically different from a traditional exercise class. The postures, or asanas in Sanskrit, are designed not to be exercises but instead a meditative practice that creates harmony between the mind, body, and soul. 

That doesn’t take away from the fact that there are plenty of yoga poses that are physically active and strength-based. There’s a reason doctors, psychologists and physical therapists recommend yoga: it improves sleep, heart health, blood pressure, boosts the immune system and relieves common conditions like neck and back pain. Most importantly, it’s a known tool for stress relief, which we all need. 

Chronic stress can lower your risk for other conditions; such as depression, obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Yoga works to literally change the mind’s conditioned responses and our nervous systems, often inflicted with trauma. 

Myth #3: You need to have a long, advanced practice.

Savasana, or corpse pose, is often considered to be the most challenging pose in yoga because it strictly focuses on the mindfulness aspect of yoga. And we (Westerners – as in, most American yoga classes) only typically have you remain there for about 3-5 minutes. 

Yet, people still get restless. 

Yin yoga, a style of yoga that allows you to remain in a passive stretch for 3-5 minutes, is one that I always give a disclaimer with: “You’ll either love or hate yin yoga.” 

There’s really no in-between. If you’re a fast-paced, power yoga only type of person, you’ll have a harder time in yin yoga. In yin yoga, you’re forced to slow down and be still. It can force your mind into its most uncomfortable place: itself. Facing your thoughts is extremely challenging for people who are always on the go. Yet, yin yoga is exactly what they need to practice to start to learn to let go of some of those thoughts and just be with the present moment. 

And just being in the present moment is exactly what yoga is meant to be. 

You don’t need a long and advanced practice. Sometimes you just need a minute in child’s pose or 10 minutes practicing sun salutations. The most important thing is that you practice. 

Myth #4: Yoga is a religion.

This one comes up a LOT in my area. I’m in Arkansas, the Bible Belt, where a lot of people are totally against yoga. I’ve heard people say it’s “of the devil” or that it’s “countercultural.” 

Really, what they’re afraid of are the spiritual disciplines that accompany yoga. Yoga has eight limbs; asana being just one of them. The others are: the yamas and niyamas, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi.

Whoo, that was a lot of new words. Luckily, I have a handout to help you keep track of what all those mean (thanks, Meagan): 

These disciplines can get people confused. While yoga does include themes that are spiritual in nature, if you identify with a certain religion, yoga often brings you closer to your own religious path. Having grown up in church myself, I distinctly remember a verse that says: “Love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him." (Deuteronomy 30:20). If you so choose, you can bring that ideology and devotion into your practice and honor your own faith by honoring your body. 

(Note: brahmacharya doesn’t mean to never have relations - it means to be mindful of how much activity you’re participating in, no matter what it is: food, alcohol, even exercise. As they say, too much of a good thing…..)

Myth #5: Yoga is only for certain people.

A stereotype of yoga is that it’s all stressed out, thin women with no health issues who come to yoga. 

This could not be further from the truth. 

Everyone has pre-existing conditions. I’m suffering from shoulder injuries as I write this and I’m getting carpal tunnel surgery this week.

That doesn’t mean I’m skipping my practice (well, probably for a few days while I heal). Everyone is welcome to come to yoga as long as it’s safe for your body to practice; you don’t have to look a certain way or be able to do everything in a yoga class or session to participate. When you physically can’t do a pose, allow it to become an opportunity to become curious. 

Why do you have back pain when you do backbends? Is it possible that sitting for eight hours per day might not be the best for your back? When you want to try a balance pose but don’t know if you can do it, is it fear holding you back?

Yoga guides you inward — to notice what serves you, and let go of what doesn’t. 

Maybe, now it’s time to let go of the myths you’ve heard, and come try it for yourself.

If you’re in Russellville, I teach every Tuesday at 5:30 PM for a vinyasa flow and then every Wednesday at 6:30 PM for a slow flow class.