Anshuka Parwani is one of India’s most celebrated yoga instructors, who among achieving many personal feats, is also lauded for being the lady behind Kareena Kapoor Khan’s amazing post-pregnancy transformation and Malaika Arora’s fit body.
5 Myths Surrounding Yoga Practice
Myth 1: You need to be flexible to practice Yoga.
One of the most popular yoga myths is the belief that you must be flexible before ever setting foot on a mat. The truth is, flexibility isn’t a prerequisite. In fact, a regular yoga practice will actually help you become more flexible over time. So, ignore the crazy pretzel poses on your social media feed and learn how yoga can benefit your physical and emotional health.
Depending on your initial level of flexibility, use props, such as blocks, bolsters, or straps. These function as tools to support your body. They help you find more length in each posture to stretch your muscles.
Myth 2: Yoga comes from Hinduism.
“Yoga is a technology. Anybody who is willing to make use of it can make use of it.”
Yoga is Hindu just the way gravity is Christian. Just because the law of gravity was propounded by Isaac Newton, who lived in a Christian culture, does it make gravity Christian? Yoga is a technology. Anybody who is willing to make use of it can make use of it.
Why the yogic sciences have gotten labeled as Hindu by a few ignorant people because this science and technology grew and prospered in this culture, so naturally it has gotten associated with the Hindu way of life. “The word “Hindu” has come from the word “Sindhu”, which is a river. Because this culture grew from the banks of the river Sindhu or Indus, this culture got labeled as Hindu. Hindu is not an “ism” – it is not a religion. It is a geographical and cultural identity.”Sadhguru
Myth 3: You can learn yoga from a book.
if you enter any major bookstore, you will find a minimum of 15 to 20 different yoga books. How to learn yoga in 7 days, how to become a yogi in 21 days… Many people have caused immense damage to themselves by learning yoga through books. It seems to be very simple, but when you do it, you will see it is a very subtle aspect. This has to be done with perfect understanding and proper guidance. Without this, one can get into deep trouble. A book can inspire you but is not meant to teach a practice.
Myth 4: Yoga is something you practice every morning and evening.
Yoga is not something to do morning-evening. It is a sure way of being. You have to embrace yoga. If it’s morning-evening yoga, the rest of the time entanglement – this is not yoga, this is only yoga practice.
There is no aspect of life that is excluded from the yogic process. If your life becomes yoga, then you can do everything. You can run your family, you can go to the office, you can run your business, you can do whatever you want without any problem if your way of being becomes yoga. Every aspect of life, either you can use it to entangle yourself or to liberate yourself. If you are using it to entangle yourself, we call it karma. If you are using it to liberate yourself, we call it yoga.
Myth 5: Practicing Yoga calls for wearing certain types of clothes.
Many yogis argue that wearing proper yoga pants or other clothing is absolutely critical to achieving the full benefits of the practice. Others argue that the only thing that matters is your personal preference, hence if you don’t like something, then it’s best to just not wear it. Any kind of workout clothes or activewear is acceptable to wear in your yoga practice. Most students keep it simple by wearing a loose-fitting top on top of a sports bra with a pair of yoga pants.