People’s opinions about yoga these days can vary, such as: “I can’t do yoga. There are only stretching exercises, and I have no flexibility at all” or “Yoga is sitting for hours in meditation”, or “Yoga? I’ve heard of it, but I don’t know what it is. My wife goes to yoga, she likes it, but it’s all women.”
The modern Internet, when talking about yoga, creates a beautiful picture that includes colorful yoga mats and slender people bending and twisting their perfect bodies into unimaginable positions, as if to achieve inner peace and harmony in this way.
How to discern behind the surface of a glossy picture the ancient art of life, the science of self-development, the philosophy of a calm attitude to the vicissitudes of fate? A look at common myths about yoga will help us dispel doubts.
Myth #1: Yoga is a sect.
A sect is a type of religious organization that opposes the traditionally dominant doctrine, opposes the system of generally accepted religious and secular norms, and functions as a counterculture.
People who practice yoga become more positive, cheerful, good-natured and goal-oriented; a sense of inner freedom and a feeling of unity with the whole world appears. Yoga is not “the opposite of conventional wisdom”, it is a supplement that helps a person to more effectively implement in the community, the family, to “find themselves.
Myth #2: Yoga is a religion.
Yoga is not a religious system, but a spiritual system, or a system of spiritual self-improvement. Yoga is practiced by Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and atheists. Yoga does not impose or require any religious ideas or preferences, on the contrary, it leads to clarity of mind, makes a person think, analyze their actions and intentions, question the imposed views and study. In its essence, yoga is closer to science rather than religion because yoga was created by ancient sages (rishis) who, through research, trial, error and observation, developed and systematized exercises that help one refine one’s body and mind, grow spiritually and become more harmonious and balanced.
Myth #3: Yoga requires vegetarianism.
Yoga does not impose or require anything on the practitioner. There are some recommendations (including nutrition) that help accelerate progress in the practice and increase its effectiveness. It is recommended to avoid opiates, intoxicating and stupefying substances because they lower one’s awareness, dull the personality and take away a lot of energy, instead of activity one becomes apathetic and depressed, which is contrary to the essence of yoga. Doing yoga leads to mental clarity and vitality. However, a yoga practitioner can eat meat or refuse to eat meat, not by violence or force of will, but simply by listening to the needs of the body.
Myth #4. Yoga is about stretching.
Yoga classes are sets of exercises aimed at strengthening and relaxing the body and finding physical harmony. It is scientifically proven that the easiest and most effective way to relax a tense muscle is to stretch it, so yoga includes complexes of stretching for the legs and hips, but in this case, the purpose of the exercises is not the stretch itself, but to relax the muscles and work with breathing and attention.
Myth #5. Yogis put their feet behind their head and sleep on nails, boil their blood and stop their heart.
Yoga does allow a person to gain a certain amount of control over their body – to feel and understand their body better, to anticipate internal imbalances and to be aware of their needs. But it takes many years of very hard training to gain full control of the body.
Myth #6. Yoga involves withdrawal from society.
Yoga does not encourage withdrawal from society or fleeing from problems. The proper practice of yoga gives a tremendous amount of energy that can be invested in anything and especially in one’s own development and realization. Most yoga practitioners are successful, socially realized people with happy families. Yoga is about happiness, enjoyment of life, which often includes active social activities.
Myth #7. Yoga promotes weight loss.
Slowing the metabolism means that yoga, on the contrary, promotes weight gain. In general, it is impossible to lose weight without intense calorie burning. But when practicing yoga, the caloric expenditure is so negligible that it is difficult to take it into account for weight loss. The legendary thinness of real yogis, such as those pictured in pictures, is the result of many years of a regimen of restricted diet.
Myth #8. Yoga is absolutely safe. Even babies can do it.
Yoga can be very dangerous. Here’s what William Broad, author of The Science of Yoga and a journalist for the Times, says: “Yoga is just a tool. With any tool, if you use it wrong, you can break something. Yoga can produce a whole wave of injuries and negative consequences… On the whole, both the risks and the merits of yoga have exceeded my expectations many times over.”
Especially dangerous is the so-called “hot yoga,” when yoga classes take place in conditions of high temperature and humidity.
Myth #9. Yoga is only for women.
The truth is that all people, not just women, are in search of inner harmony and tranquility, want to avoid disease and live a long and happy life in good health. Yoga offers something for anyone interested in physical, mental or spiritual development, and is not a discipline for women only or for men only. Many men (including athletes) do yoga regularly, and they have found that it offers great benefits in all areas of life.
Myth #10. Yoga gives you fantastic powers.
These myths include beliefs like, “All people who do yoga for many years look young,” “All people who do yoga are long-lived and never get sick,” and “If you do yoga, you will definitely achieve spiritual enlightenment.”
These myths are dispelled as the practice of yoga matures. What may be true for one person is not necessarily true for another. Yoga is not a cure-all, it does not increase life expectancy by a factor of two or three for every practitioner, and not every yoga practitioner will become an enlightened sage. The practice of yoga gives a new degree of self-awareness, helps one to quiet the mind, stay intensely in the present moment, and learn to distinguish the important from the unimportant and the good from the good. It is not something supernatural, and at the same time allows you to experience a new quality of Life. Improving and maintaining health, keeping fit, looking good, speaking well and having a calm mind – these are some of the benefits that can come from a good yoga practice!
Myth #11.To succeed in yoga, you need to practice from childhood.
It’s a great thing when a child is exposed to yoga at an early age and lays a strong foundation for a healthy body and a strong mind for the future. This is really wonderful and we all should make efforts in this direction.
However, history is replete with facts when people started practicing either at an advanced age or as a result of significant injuries and abnormalities in the body and reached the pinnacle of mastery. For illustration we want to give an example of the Belgian Queen, who was taken by B. K. S. Iyengar to teach the art of yoga. We all know that nowadays yoga is fashionable among the “elite” and this fact would not be so unique, if not for one BUT. At the time of the beginning of the training the queen was 84 years old! As a result of her training, she was able to accomplish her goal of standing in a shirshasana (headstand).
Myth #12. With our rhythm of life, it’s impossible to fully practice yoga.
Of course, most of us, because of family obligations and social life, do not have time to give three hours of asana practice, a couple of hours of pranayama and a few hours of meditation, but THIS IS NOT Necessary. Yoga is effectiveness in every action. Yoga should serve our lives, not the other way around. Many people don’t understand this point and make a cult out of yoga, which they make themselves believe in and “pull in” those around them. The practice of yoga is to fulfill one’s duties flawlessly, according to one’s level of evolutionary development. And here, agree, any form of activity will do. Of course, immersion in the practice of working with the body occupies a significant place. And there are many systems of yoga can help, adapted to our frantic pace of life, our mentality and our musculoskeletal structure.
Myth #13. Yoga practitioners become inadequate.
Yes, a person who practices yoga regularly does become “inadequate” at some point in their development. But this individual peculiarity appears not as a result of any negative deviations, but due to the revelation of his/her own individual potential of body, mind and psyche. It is already quite difficult to “convince” such a person from the TV screen that the standard of health is a cola and hamburgers, the standard of prestige is expensive things, and the standard of mind is a “high-quality and expensive” education.
Myth #14. Anyone can teach yoga.
To teach yoga, it is not enough to be flexible and practice yoga yourself. To become a yoga teacher, you need to take a special course and practice yoga for several years, backed up by spiritual growth and meditation.