If you’ve decided to learn yoga and meditation to improve your life, then you’ve made one of the best decisions of your life. Yoga is a fascinating philosophy that teaches you how to unify your body and mind with your soul. It’s formerly taught by an Indian sage named Patanjali who wrote the Yoga Sutras.
People can start learning yoga with a lot of enthusiasm but somehow lose hope as time goes by. What they don’t know is that sometimes they make mistakes that limit their progress on their spiritual path.
So any yoga aspirant should be aware of some basic things that are important for success on the spiritual path. Here we have five common mistakes that yoga practitioners should be conscious of:
Becoming too ambitious
It is quite common and natural to become too pretentious and expect a lot of success immediately. But this is really a recipe for disaster. By becoming too ambitious, you make higher expectations for yourself.
When you establish unrealistic expectations, you also tend to be disappointed when you can’t reach them. Therefore, any yoga aspirant should learn to be realistic and avoid becoming overly ambitious while they’re starting to learn yoga.
Learning only from books or videos
This is one of the most common mistakes people make. Many people forget the importance of a genuine teacher and try to learn everything for themselves. Although there is no problem with self-learning. Learning only by oneself and not from a certified teacher, can be counterproductive.
When practicing yoga asanas, you need the help of an expert to have the correct postures. Any incorrect movement can cause serious physical harm. Therefore, in addition to self-learning, you should always learn from an experienced yoga teacher.
Just concentrating on basic asanas
People get stuck with basic postures and don’t want to learn the more advanced asanas. You should always learn yoga in its entirety and not just be satisfied with the same asanas and postures.
In fact, Yoga isn’t just about learning body postures or asanas, it’s a system that teaches a person to achieve self-realization.
Even though asanas are one of the eight parts of yoga, it is actually about achieving self-development. Through constant and detailed practice, one can gradually progress on the spiritual ladder and accomplish enlightenment.
Not being honest with your practice
Many people learn yoga just to start a business or other selfish reasons. Although the demand for yoga has increased substantially in recent years, people should not lose the essence of yoga. As we have said before, yoga is not just about learning asanas and improving fitness.
In reality, yoga is about achieving the union of body, mind, and spirit to live in harmony with yourself and others. So make sure you’re honest about the reasons why are you starting to practice it.
Comparing yourself to others
A lot of people get hurt trying to imitate what the guy on the next mat is doing. You have to understand that each body is different, and practice time is also a factor that influences postures. What we recommend is that you enjoy the stage you are at, listen to your body to see how far you can go and gradually move forward with patience.
If you feel identified with any of these misconceptions, now you know what you were probably doing wrong. So, avoid making these mistakes the next time you go to a yoga class and observe the difference in your practice.