Many people have interesting misconceptions about what yoga is or what it looks like. They think it means being in a very contorted shape, or being impossibly flexible. They are under the impression that it’s about the stretch. In reality, it’s not about stretching at all, or about how flexible you are. It’s about how OPEN you are.
When you go into an asana (pose), think of extending or lengthening your muscles as OPENING, however gently or little that may be, rather than stretching. Stretching implies you go beyond a physical limitation to get to an end-point. OPENING, on the other hand, means that you are showing your body enough love to release your physical hold on it and allow for it to relax, to create space, to invite in the here and now, the uncertainty, the joy, the pain. To allow the merging of the experience of the mind, body, and higher Self, and to see reality devoid of Ego and Pride.
Stretching means you are fighting Ego and Pride. Your mind is telling you that your body should look a certain way in a certain pose. Your ego gets bruised because it doesn’t, and your pride is shred because you criticize yourself for not looking like you think you should.
OPENING means you have cast Ego and Pride aside. You are able to see reality devoid of these two demons. You are instead able to appreciate that it doesn’t matter at all how far down your head is to the floor or how far apart your legs are. You are doing the pose just as deeply as someone who has the flexibility of a rubber band. You are reaping the exact same benefits. The study of the Self is just as true, just as valid, just as beneficial.
It’s important to note, too, that the opening that is required of a yogi isn’t just applied toward asanas. It is applied to ALL aspects of life—inviting in with Love and seeing reality devoid of Ego and Pride, even if all they are doing is having a conversation or folding laundry. Opening is something we must do now, more than ever, so that we can maintain peace and truly heal, one soul at a time.