Busted! 6 myths about yoga you need to stop believing

As an ancient practice of achieving physical and mental well-being, yoga dates back ages in history. Cut to recent times where, in a rapidly developing modern world, yoga has still not lost its relevance. Not only has yoga, as a practice, become immensely popular in recent times, but it has also been associated with many myths! 

Here’s our attempt at debunking some of these myths to help you separate fact from fiction:

1. Flexibility is key to practicing yoga
You don’t need to be as flexible as a rubber band to be able to practice yoga. As you keep doing yoga and dedicate yourself to the practice, you will be able to perform most poses with ease over time because not all yoga poses involve flexibility, to begin with.

So, instead of treating flexibility as a benchmark to be able to do yoga, it is essential to understand that practice leads to precision.

2. Yoga is difficult
Unless you try something, how can you be sure of its difficulty level? While there is no denying that some yoga poses are tricky and cannot be attempted on day one, you can always start with the less tricky ones. The thing with yoga, as with most things in life, is that it comes with practice.
To learn it, you have to begin from somewhere relatively simpler which will help you transition into the more difficult asanas with the utmost ease after a considerable time of practice. That being said, basic yoga poses are so simple that you don’t even need to follow an expansive tutorial if you’re doing it on your own.

3. It is a form of religion
Yoga does have a spiritual element to it, but it is imperative to know that it does not involve being tied to a particular religion, nor does it follow any religious practices.

While certain people try chanting mantras during yoga sessions as a way of bringing focus and awakening their inner self, but these are certainly not the necessary requirements of practicing yoga.

4. Yoga is only for thin people
Social media is often flooded with images of young women in their perfectly toned bodies doing yoga. This sometimes may give way to a misleading image in people’s minds that only thin people can practice it when in reality, yoga is for everyone, irrespective of body type and age.

Also, Read: Try these 7 easy-breezy yoga asanas at home for that sculpted jawline

5. All yoga poses are the same
Well, that’s not true at all! There are a series of yoga asanas that aim at achieving various results. You can explore endless options from coming in touch with your spiritual side to high-intensity stress relieving poses.

While the Cobra Pose is very effective in dealing with belly fat, Hero’s Pose can prove to be helpful in getting you to sleep well. In a nutshell, yoga is for everyone and there are umpteen variations, adjustments as well as challenges that you can explore to find out what works best for your body.

6. Yoga needs to be practiced in a studio
It is true that yoga should be learned from a trained instructor and practiced under supervision. However, once you master the poses and you are comfortable doing them on your own, you can practice yoga anywhere anytime.

Now that you have your myths busted, it is time to deep dive into the world of yoga and experience that connection with your body and mind!

Also, Read: 6 easy yoga poses you can literally do in your bed, so no more excuses!