8 Myths about yoga

O meu caminho em Holanda | My path in Holland


Most people have heard about yoga. But the fact that there is so much talk about yoga these days, does not mean that there is more clarity about the subject than fifty years ago. That is why there are so many myths.


  1. You have to be flexible to do yoga

Untrue. Yoga is not gymnastics or acrobatics. In yoga the body is used as an instrument for inner work. That is why a practitioner of yoga moves to where the body permits. With time the body will give more space, step by step.

  1. Yoga is slow and even boring

Could be or could not be. In practice yoga can be active or slow but always with a fluid movement. The original Hatha-yoga contains everything.

  1. Yoga is for women

Less and less men think so, lucky for them. In the moment they overcome this thought they understand that yoga is for everybody.

  1. Yoga is a religion

Untrue. Yoga is not a religion and does not exclude anyone. Yoga is a life philosophy that teaches us to live more consciously. It is a path that helps us become conscious of our spiritual dimension and to live in harmony with that dimension.

  1. Yoga is to relax and calm down

Relaxation and stillness are consequences of a yoga practice, no goals. A yogi is a normal human being, of flesh and blood with his strengths and weaknesses and emotions. With yoga we can be much more conscious of our feelings and emotions and make them useful.

  1. Yoga is a physical activity

Although physical practice is a large component of yoga, it still is inner work. When we execute the postures, we never use them to work the body for the body but to use them as an instrument to open the door to the deepest of our being. So please do not compare yoga with pilates or any other form of physical activity, even when the exercises seem to be the same. Yoga is what we do on the inside.

  1. A yogi is very spiritual

What counts is what we do on the inside, not on the outside. When a practitioner sits in a meditation posture with eyes closed seemingly “meditating” – does not mean that he or she is in fact working on his or her spirituality. The inner work is not visible.

  1. To do yoga you have to be vegetarian

It is true that yoga practitioners are conscious about what they eat. For whatever reason, respect for animals, environment or personal health. You have free choice and that choice appears from the inner world. A regular yoga practise will result, in a natural way, in a transformation that fits your life.

Come and practice yoga and experiment what the truth is about yoga.

(Abbreviated article by Catarina Mota)

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