If you look on Google images for Yoga these are the sort of images that predominate the search…
lots of images of lithe young women flexing into the perfect stretches elegantly and without effort. As someone who loved doing Yoga before the spinal issues I can honestly say that while I know these positions and the poise is achievable it is no where near as easy to achieve as the images suggest.
I do love doing Yoga and one day hope to be able to get back into it and regain some of my flexibility once more but at the minute positions such as these are beyond me…
I think one of the main issues I have with Yoga though is that they promote it so much using the people who are advanced in their abilities that most normal people shrink away from trying it out. If they used more beginner images or images such as this one…
more people would begin to understand that anyone can try it and benefit from it and more people might be willing to give it a go. It is hard to accept at times your own limitations and realising how far behind others you are can be really disconcerting and make you wonder why you bother but like anything if you persevere the results can be worth it. This is one of the yoga salutations I used to do daily and I did feel better for it and look forward to being able to judge my progress by stretching just that few millimetres further or hold it just a few seconds longer.
Of course the one thing most of us will never achieve is finding a partner who not only loves yoga but who is strong enough for us to balance on and happy for us to try…
And of course the main area which the photos really differ from reality is that no matter how fit we get, how flexible and how centred during meditation, we will never find the perfect sunset under which to practise every evening…
Have you tried Yoga? Did you like it? Or would you be more encouraged to try if more ‘normal’ people were used to promote it?
Paula Acton 
I’m only willing to try yoga if they have the strawberry flavoured ones.
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