Reporting back post-yoga as promised.
Went to a Body Balance class today at the gym. I like being in the class, they play good music and they do a 10 minute meditation at the end. It's a shame I will be leaving the gym because I can't afford a membership there and the place I'm doing dancing. But, I liked feeling all stretchy and balanced and powerful in a way that's not aggressive at all, but a little bit artful. Going to have a look at those online videos and report back when I try them!
Cool, I'm glad you had a good experience with it! Yoga is definitely both artful and powerful.
Watching videos of super strong and flexible people doing extremely advanced poses, I start to assume that's normal, and I'm just useless because I can't achieve anything in comparison. I forget that many people can't touch their toes, let alone put their head right between their legs when bending forward, and neither is inherently better than the other.
part of the so-called "intermediate" series
So I tried comparing myself the other way. I borrowed "Yoga for Dummies", which teaches very basic yoga I'm easily able to do, and compared myself with my younger siblings, who apparently can't sit on the floor with their legs straight out in front of them and back straight (I thought all uninjured people could do this).
But... neither of these approaches are yoga. Comparison isn't yoga. It's simply. not. RELEVANT. what other people can or can't do. It doesn't matter if I'm more flexible than 80% of the population, or less flexible than others. Even if I became the Best Yoga Practitioner In The World (no such thing lol), I'd lose that physical flexibility and strength through injury or illness or old age or death, so, what does it matter? I do it for my own health, not for achievement, and not for others.
I just need to keep practicing and doing my best and remembering that physical achievement isn't the aim. That's real yoga.
(hope no one minds my yoga philosophy discourses - I'm trying to really ingrain this stuff in my head haha)