Oooh, I got a bee in my yoga bonnet the other day. I took part in a yoga class and the teacher drove me bananas. First of all, she wouldn't stop talking. (I know! Pot and kettle...) Then, she confused her left and rights (I KNOW! People in glass houses...) But the ultimate sin was her constant warning of impeding injury. 'If your foot isn't pointing here, you will twist your leg and it'll fall off'. Or 'if your knee goes too far, you will die a slow and painful death'. (I may be exaggerating a tad...) But it got me thinking.

Of course there are wrong movements which can cause an injury. Anyone who has ever stepped off the number 43 bus and twisted an ankle knows how painful that can be. Theoretically, there is potential impending danger with every move we make, but also it might be fair to presume that we will survive our day to day. So why should we be fearful in a yoga class?

Yoga isn't exercise
As controversial as this notion of 'yoga not being exercise' is, especially when we do it in gyms, it is worth considering. Allow me to step up onto my teacher's podium and do some revision.

The whole point of yoga is to reach enlightenment. This is a bit of a tricky place to find. We first have to stop all our 'mind chatter'. Then, discover our true self and perhaps, after that we might be good to go.

But many of us fall at the first hurdle. We spend the class tiring our bodies, we lie down in the final relaxation, which in theory creates the opportunity to glimpse the silence behind the mind chatter. But instead, what do we do? We ponder, we think and we mull... what we are going to have for dinner? Where did she buy her ankle bracelet? Would my ankle look big in a bracelet? It goes on and on. The mind chatter goes crazy.

Yoga isn't a sport
When we play a sport, our aim is to win or gain mastery. We push through our bodies to succeed. We learn determination, drive, resilience. It makes us stronger, and with it comes grit. doggedness and ego. I will be the best. We ignore our bodies yelling 'Stop. Give up'. And replace it with 'Go on. Win'.

This is the opposite to yoga, where we listen to our body and let it decide whether we go further. We are seeking equilibrium. That state of creating the pose, with a calm breath and still the mind. It is hard work with ease, with balance.

100 ways to skin a cat
There are 100 ways to do a yoga pose, just look at all the different styles on offer. Which one is right? Toes in? Toes out? Arms out? Arms up? The importance is the intention of the pose. Our job is to tune in and feel what we are doing. The teacher can suggest put your foot here, push there, but they will never know how it feels in your body. And if you are aware enough, you know the difference when something feels wrong or it's just working new muscles. On some level, the pose is whatever shape you want it to be.

If, for example, in shoulder stand I put all the pressure on my neck and I ignore my eyes popping out of their sockets, and my face is turning bright red, of course there is potential to injure myself. What if instead I listened to the body? I released the ego to achieve the perfect pose and find some ease and equilibrium? Maybe I won't go up as high as I would like and am not as good as the person next to me, but I am doing yoga and injury is less likely. Ultimately you know best, and ignore the teacher.

(But don't ignore me of course... no, no, no, that would be a terrible idea)

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