3 Reasons Why You Should Give Yoga a Second Chance
“I don't think yoga is for me. I've tried, but I'm not that into it.”
Yoga is like music. You can't listen to one alt-rock song or bluegrass tune and then swear off music because you didn't connect with it. That's what yoga is like. There are many reasons to give yoga second chance, but here are three solid reasons to get back into your local room.
You might have had an instructor you didn't connect with.
My wife wants to buy crystals. I don't get it. But whatever. If she’s into them, that’s for her. I don’t have to connect with that.
In the same way, some people don't connect with a certain type of teacher. Think of your favorite public school teacher that you had growing up. That person is your favorite because they connected with you. You remember the subject they taught and you may remember a few lessons they gave you, but more than anything you remember feeling connected to them. Yoga instructors are just like this. The subject is the same, but if there's no connection with the person relaying that message, you may not pick it up. So the cure for this is to go to as many yoga classes as possible until you find a handful of teachers that you feel connected to.
You went to the wrong class
Maybe the class you went to was a power yoga class, and the instructor was having you hold poses and burning up your quads and making you sweat when you were expecting to show up and leave class blissed out and calm. Or maybe you wanted to get a good sweat and build some strength, and your instructor bathed you and sage and had you flap your wings in front of a salt lamp. That doesn't mean that yoga is the problem. It means that you need to find the class that is right for you.
You know more now
In your first yoga class, you are getting acquainted with a whole new experience. Someone is telling you where to put your feet and how to breathe. That's not typical. You learn new words and you learned new ways to move your body. If you've never been to yoga, you may have lived your entire life without going into child's pose. At least since you were a child of course. So now you know what those things are. Maybe in class for your first time you were self-conscious about getting into those poses. Now you know where you are going. So when you go back to your next yoga class, you will have that memory. You have learned. The second time will feel more natural than the first time and the third and the 4th and the 5th and so on.