There is a wonderful movement in the yoga community to combat the notion that you need to be thin, flexible, physically adept and look stunning in your lululemons in order to be respected and admired in the elite yoga circles.

It’s a shame that it is necessary to have to address these issues but in the world of Facebook and Instagram most of the yoga promotions are photos of beautiful people, living seemingly beautiful lives in beautiful settings with incredibly flexible bodies! This is not a fair representation of yoga and I feel it does more harm than good.

In reality, what does a yogi look like? A yogi looks like you or me or anyone who has the patience, courage and commitment to work on themselves through yoga. In my 30 + years of teaching, I have learned many lessons on making judgments on outward appearances. I have judged others and have been the target of judgements. In my younger years I tried desperately to look the part of the quintessential yoga teacher. I tried to change my body, to lose weight, to be more flexible, to perform advanced yoga postures, to be good enough. Yet, I never felt that I arrived, there was always a thinner, stronger, more beautiful teacher showing off their amazing abilities that left me feeling just a little less than.

I have always been heavier and a little stiffer than most of the yoga teachers that I had ever studied with, yet there was something inside of me that just knew none of that really mattered. From the very first time I practiced yoga I gained so much joy and release that I was willing to put up with the discernment that I sometimes experienced from my peers and that was admittedly sometimes a result of my own insecurities.

Over time, my friends and family began to notice a positive change in me and folks started asking me to teach. When I finally found the courage to teach full time, I was still working on myself and my inner demons of not feeling good enough. What was most remarkable were the students that came to my class. There were many students, who just like me, didn’t fit the mold of the ideal yogi.

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They were ordinary people that were drawn to class for the same reasons that brought me to yoga. My students would tell me that they liked my class because I was not perfect! That I inspired them because I was not so intimidating and they felt comfortable being themselves and ok with where they were in the practice. Wow! After all the hard work I put in being perfect, this was not what I expected.

But what a relief. I learned that it was ok to be my imperfect self. I learned that if I wanted to connect with my students on a deeper level I needed to be authentic. I began to talk about some of the physical and emotional issues that yoga was helping me combat. I realized that my students were going through many of the same issues that I was working on. We had a lot in common and together, by sharing our experiences we could help each other grow.

For me, as a student and as a teacher, Let It Go Yoga has always the great neutralizer! In my first class I was told that it didn’t matter what it looked like, to close my eyes, go inside, do nothing and just be. There was no competition, no comparison. It didn’t even matter if I could do all the poses, I was instructed to just show up and see what happens. Those ideas were new to me then and it has taken years to assimilate the totality of that wisdom. I can honestly say that as my practice evolved my mind has opened to new thoughts and possibilities.

As a teacher I have learned that a yogi can look like anyone. Young, old, thin, not so thin, flexible, not so flexible. We are all flexible enough to start a yoga practice. There is no need to change a thing in order to begin. Just start where you are. You may be able to do your yoga postures picture perfect or like me, you may need to modify and work around some physical issues. However, what it looks like is not the point. It’s more about self awareness and learning how to slow down and go inward. You begin to let go of judgements, comparison and competition.

Let It Go Yoga is unique, it teaches you how to stop DOing and start BEing.

 

Sue Anne Parsons 500 EYT, CYT – owner of Let It Go Yoga since 1986

Want to know more about Let It Go Yoga? Click here to view your free Diaphragmatic Breathing Video!


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