Recently, I read an article about yoga and the whole idea of “competition.”
It really seems like the OMG! SUPER COMPETITIVE! nature of sports that motivates us to keep pushing and beat the other team…or beat our own record…that competitive spirit spills over into our yoga classes too.
This article argued that you shouldn’t be treating yoga like a competition, because you’re not trying to “beat” others or yourself in yoga or PiYo.
I mean, sure, hopefully you’ll try new, more challenging exercises, and you’ll be striving to do your best and really connect with yourself every yoga class!!
BUT. Remember that yoga isn’t really about trying to “win.” And it’s certainly not about beating yourself up if you can’t do something that other people in the class can do!
You shouldn’t be LOOKING at the other people in class and thinking, “Wow, let me try to get my form more like hers…OMG, I suck at everything compared to him…” Y’know what I mean! That’s not a helpful attitude, so way to mess up the aura of the class. 😉
I mean, pretty much every yoga class is going to have its beginning, intermediate, and expert level students. It’s gonna take a while to MASTER stuff…and in the meantime, remember that the PURPOSE of yoga is not to “compete” or “win” anything, not even against yourself. It’s all about feeling strong, relaxed, and CONTENT in your own body and with the world.
Tune out the rest of the world!! 😉 That’s yoga and compassion for ya.
If you’re still holding on to stress and insecurity in class, talk to your instructor about it.
Heck, I’d love for you to talk to me more about it, since I’ve had this issue in PiYo and had OTHER people talk to me about it, too.
Click here to shoot me a message about PiYo or about anything else…I can even help you become an instructor yourself!
But yeah…yoga (and PiYo, of course!) are all about growing and changing and letting the process happen naturally. And yoga is supposed to help you improve both BODY and MIND…So, uh, why is your mind gonna trash your body just because you can’t do things perfectly the first time? Stop it!! 💕
Sooo the next time you find your eyes looking away from YOUR mat, and instead comparing yourself to others…Tell yourself to RETURN to and REFOCUS on yourself and on loving yourself!
Have some quick little motivational things ready to say in your head (or out loud, I won’t judge 😉 ).
- You’re doing amazing!
- I feel really great today.
- I’m so happy that I have the time and ability to be in class today.
- Today is a great day to love myself!
Or, if that’s a little too dorky for you, then just take a deeeep breath and smile!! 😊
