Do I Have to Be Flexible to Do Yoga?

"I'm not flexible enough for yoga."

Aah. The yoga teacher's arch-nemesis of excuses. Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be a pretzel to be able to do (and benefit from!) yoga. Yoga isn't about being a contortionist, it's about stretching, lengthening, strengthening and relaxing--from whatever point you are at.

Some yoga studios have even started offering classes with titles like "Classes for Inflexible People" to encourage stiffer yogis to put their best leg forward.

Think about it: do you offer medicine to a healthy person? No, you give it to the person who needs it. Yoga is the same way. "Pretzels" already have it down, it's the rest of us that need yoga to help us feel more comfortable and at peace within our bodies and minds.

So please don't let inflexibility be a reason not to try yoga--there are many variations of poses and props to help you experience poses without discomfort and a good teacher will be able to lead you through them easily. And don't be surprised when you notice that a lot of the other yogis seem to be on your same level!

As a side note, Amazon offers a great DVD called "Yoga for Inflexible People". Check it out.