Yoga and Competition

The other day after I instructed a yoga class a beginning student said to me he wanted to master yoga within six months. Immediately I said "yes! me too! (with a big grin and a wink), only it's a life time practice, so hang in there". "A life time practice" is an overlooked statement of the process of yoga. Yoga means to yoke, so it is a constant practice everyday and every moment we live our lives to bring about wholeness.

I've noticed one constant in our culture = competition. On some levels it is natural, and might seem necessary in our culture to get ahead. Competition can even encourage us to work harder and take our lives more seriously. Everything has its dark side though. Predominantly we are a visual culture, we compete with form rather than unique process. Instead of honoring our current predicament we doubt and insult ourselves holding onto shame.

Lets say someone has tight hamstrings, instead of saying "my hamstrings are strong how can that benefit my practice maybe it means I will have steady balance poses, or hold Warrior pose with more ease," which would encourage success. More often the inner dialogue goes like this "damn, I can't touch my toes, this hurts, I can't straighten my legs, I must suck, I don't want to be here." Thus we get stuck in comparison, thereby we miss the beauty of our strengths by seeing only weaknesses.

If someone can turn themselves into a "pretzel", or brave a headstand for five minutes, or do wheel pose for 10 minutes it doesn't necessarily mean they have come close to mastering yoga's true benefits. It can be frustrating for a newer student who feels they can't compare. Next it becomes their obsession to be in the final form of the pose that made them feel like they didn't compare. In some ways it is a motivating factor, but better not to go there at all --because what you are striving for is an outward mode of excellence, which will take you completely away from your truth, your center, your own excellence and the entire process yoga is meant for. Not to mention this is why many people get hurt in their yoga practice, because it also takes you out of your body.

While it is good to strive forward let it come from an inward mode of excellence, or you may push yourself backwards. To excel in yoga and truly reap the benefits is to find a solid inner relationship grounded in what is present in you, it is to gain awareness of what mental attitudes you take towards each pose, and each moment outside the mat --this is the way you breath, the way you move. Looking at someone else and trying to out do them, or compare won't get you where you want to go. Self love and honor is the heart of yoga.

As a yoga teacher I would emphasis balancing a students perceived weaknesses into strengths; to find patience; to challenge oneself but not compare. Re-framing the mind to look at ourselves in ways that embellish our unique strengths is not always easy in a culture of strong ideals: where the outer form eludes us. But --by overlooking the outward appearance, and deepening the awareness of our unique process we are more likely to succeed and give meaning to our lives. There is an old saying "it's not what's on the outside that counts, it's what's on the inside" and externally it will show!

(Yoga in a sense is never attained or mastered, especially not through a competitive mindset, because it isn't a "thing" it is an aspect of life, a way to affirm life.)

By Jeanie Garden
Yoga Instructor in Sebastopol, Ca

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