There's inspiration then there's lunacy
Are we inspiring or alienating?
I had a conversation the other day with a student and friend about how the trend in yoga these days seems to be flashy contortionist and aero-style poses, at least where social media posts are concerned. I'd have to agree. These poses, while magnificent to look at and fun to do, can discourage more than inspire a person to practice yoga. (That's what yoga is?! Hell. No!) I feel they miss the point by putting too much emphasis on the physical side of yoga and not enough on the philosophical side, the juicy parts of yoga. As yoga instructors, and especially as therapists, I think we're hurting yoga by showing extreme examples of physical awesomeness. The average person can't grab their big toe let alone balance on one hand while holding a green smoothie in the other and supporting four puppies on their feet. Instead of turning people off who are looking to try yoga for the first time we should make yoga warm and fuzzy and approachable. Yoga already has the stigma of being only for the thin and bendy, these insane poses don't help the cause and will certainly turn many away.
My approach to teaching is to tell people to meet themselves where they are.
I have what I call "Happy Rules" that I teach students. 'Quality, not quantity' means to build awareness about how your body moves (or doesn't), to accept that, to move only what you need to move to get the job done (pure movement), and to back off instead of forcing to the limit. Believe it or not more is not more. We get more from our bodies when we move easily then when we force. Our egos don't like it and the end result may not be flashy but who cares? The point here isn't to not work hard. Yes, work hard!! But then accept what is and what isn't in our bodies. When we do that, voilá!, progress happens.
Awareness grows. Growth happens. That's yoga.
This rule is also a metaphor for life: we get more when we act, focus on the quality of our work, and go with the flow* than we do by trying to force something that isn't meant to happen. When we're in the flow* we can better appreciate the moment.Try it and let me know how it goes. Does this resonate with you? Tell me why or why not on social media. Share this post with someone who could use it using the nifty buttons below. 
*If you want to learn more about what it means to be in the flow I suggest you read 'Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
