Meeting Ourselves as We Are by Gabe Hopp

When I was a young 20-something starting out in my yoga experiences, I was extremely achievement-oriented. I think most of us have been there. We confuse the ability to do hard poses with the idea that we’re “good at yoga.” I didn’t like a yoga class unless I was sweating and depleted afterward, again confusing the idea of working hard with doing yoga the “right way.” I think this is pretty common of yoga generally today. We equate it with a hard workout.

In reality, Yoga asks us to meet ourselves where we’re at today, in this moment, in this body. It doesn’t need us to change our bodies, our mindsets or really much of anything. We can actually practice yoga in tons of different ways, not all of which even include the body.

Let’s look at the word yoga. In Sanskrit, yoga means to yolk, to unite, to join together. There are many many ways to interpret this, but what it comes down to is that yoga joins things together giving them equal importance. Some examples include uniting the body and the mind, uniting the body and the breath, and joining our consciousness to the present. If this is our working definition of yoga, then the experience of the practice really expands in possibilities.

If our goal is one of unity, we can truly use the practice to our advantage. How do I feel today? What do I need from my practice today? Do I need a strong vigorous flow? Powerful hot practice? Rolling around on the ground? Or maybe just a simple meditation to help ground and settle the mind. You can also do these check-ins with yourself in the midst of a class. What is coming up for me now? How can I stay connected? What is my body asking me for in this moment?

We can practice listening to ourselves, tuning it to what it is that our body and heart-mind need in this moment and trying our best to meet ourselves there.