What Yoga is Not

Yoga is not a religion. You don't have to adopt any beliefs, gurus or foreign dieties. There is no conflict with whatever you believe in.   You should question and challenge everything and take nothing at face value.

Yoga is not about strength and flexibilty. You don't have to be flexible to practice yoga. Strength and flexibility will happen as a secondary benefit when you practice. The practice of Yoga, is physically challenging, sometimes even "aerobic" in dynamic classes, but fitness is a secondary benefit.

Trying one or two yoga classes is like taking one or two golf lessons. There is not much point to it. You will need to make a sincere commitment for 3 months to give it a fair trial. See what happens. Don't be quick to judge. Your mental and physical habits took a long time to develop. You won't undo them in a single class. You will need to practice alignments, breath and awareness many times a week, at home, in the car, waiting in line. Eventually yoga is an all day long practice. Then, you'll begin to experience its true depth.

Many people come to yoga because of back pain, sciatica, neck problems, breathing problems, heart problems, anxiety, diabetes, plantar fascitis, stress disorders, ulcers, addictions, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, or they want to lose weight. This is a good thing. Because many find that yoga is so much more than the physical problems that they first came for. While yoga is very effective in allievating certain types of medical conditions, these are secondary benefits. Yoga is not a medical practice, but it has been shown to be very helpful in many ways.