Yoga, Maybe, maybe, maybe…

I have been saying maybe so much in my classes lately. Maybe you might like to try this, or maybe you want to sit it out, or maybe you might like to try it a different way.. I realized at the end of my 2nd year at The Breathing Project that I was saying it so much because of all that I had learned was being turned on its proverbially head. That my job, my desire was not trying to get my students in a perfect shape of a yoga pose, but to help them experience whatever is right for them. I learned that no two people are going to be the same in a pose because we are all built differently. I learned that there are many variables in how the body works and feels on any given day. We are completely individual and different. I learned lots of other things, but the “maybes” come from the place that how in a million years could I tell someone exactly, precisely, absolutely how to do something with their bodies. So I started saying maybe a lot and thinking as I was teaching “how can I help someone find what is right for them and only them?” Maybe it’s about creating a safe enough space that each person can explore with no judgement or expectation. Maybe its about giving just enough direction in a pose that there is room to play with it. Maybe there is no one size fits all direction or thing I can say because everyone learns differently. What I do know for now is that I want to help people find things that work for them in a safe way.

I do believe there are some specifics, such as how much one should exercise and some specifics on alignment and safety. I feel quite strongly that people need to move (exercise) several hours a week in whatever way works for them. I feel strongly that there are a few types of things to be done for the body, ie– strength, stretch, some sort of aerobic activity and then certain types of foam rollers, self massage balls, etc. All of these things together in my strong opinion are the base for an overall health/fitness program, the “maybes” are not about that. They are about whatever you do within those parameters. For example, sometimes when I’m taking a long walk, I feel some tension in my neck and I know if I change my posture it maybe will help. Or I’m in a yoga class in downdog and something feels off in my shoulder, so maybe if I adjust my hand or move things around a bit, it maybe will change the feeling I’m having. There are lots and lots of maybes in relation to doing physical things with the body and not just with exercise and fitness. Maybe when I get up in the morning and I stand at the kitchen counter doing something with my body unconsciously because I just woke up, if I think about the placement of my feet and my hips that achy thing I always have in my left hip will not flair up. When I’m teaching a class, I now think about how to potentially help someone think differently about how they use their body and for me right now that is consisting of many, many “maybes” in regards to the human body.

So maybe the next time you use your body in any capacity and something feels a bit off, you might think maybe if I readjust or move just a bit to the left or the right or ease up or do whatever it is you can do to soften or realign things, your body maybe will feel different