Why do people fail at yoga?

Why do some people succeed at adopting a yoga practice  and others fail. It’s easy to put success down to luck or natural talent, but while there will always be an element of that, it does not seem to be “the answer”.

While reading some blogs I came across an article about why some people fail at Internet Marketing and others succeed.  You can see the original article on Chris Garrett’s blog.

Below is my interpretation of the seven reasons that Chris wrote about and how they apply to a yoga practice.

Willingness

If you want to do anything unfamiliar or where you have previously failed, you need to be willing to accept advice and do what it takes. There are no silver bullets, no magic formulas or quick fixes.

You have to do the hard work, show up on a regular and frequent basis and initially see very few positive results.  Yoga takes a long time for the benefits to show up. It can be six months before you start to see significant benefits.

Not many people are willing to hear this, let alone put it into action, but it is true.

Lack of self-belief

When you are constantly telling yourself you can’t, couldn’t, don’t deserve, or whatever, then you get what you think. You either have to believe you can, or at least suspend disbelief!

Once you start making progress, no matter how small, you can start believing what you set out to do is possible for you, so the sooner you get started the sooner you get some momentum.

The same thing applies with Yoga.  You need to believe that improvement is possible.  Seize on any small improvement no matter how small and celebrate.  The improvements come slowly and in small amounts over time.  In some cases they are so small that you do not even recognize that your flexibility is improving until suddenly you have reached a particular milestone.

Blame storming

Constantly people are finding all kinds of reasons for giving up and stopping their yoga practice. They blame it on their tight muscles, their age (they are too old, they are too young), their gender, their weight, their lack of weight.  their lack of time, and on and on.  You can always come up with any number of reasons to quit.

It always seems that as long as you  stick it out and keep coming on a regular and frequent basis that it is only towards the end, when they start to see the improvements that yoga has brought to their body and their mind that they accept they were in the driver’s seat all along.  As long as they kept faith in the possibility that yoga will help to make the body more flexible and healthy they will get there.

Only you can do the things that are required to change your situation.

Sheep versus Shepherd

So you need to take advice, and take advice from the right people. Part of taking responsibility is knowing when you should be lead, when you should lead, and when to say “no”. Evaluate, ask questions, weigh options, trust but verify.  You need to find a yoga teacher that you trust and can work with.  If you are not comfortable with one teacher, go to another teacher and try them out.

Another way people fail with this is friends and family who give you permission to give up, encourage you to do self destructive things, and lead you back to bad habits.

Remember people resist change, even when that change is good for you.

Execute

All the students in the yoga class get the same advice and knowledge, but when left to their own devices many fall back into their old patterns.

Knowing is not enough. Having ability  is not enough.  Going to one more yoga class this week even when you do not want to will help to improve your body that little bit more.  It’s not just about how long you have been practicing yoga but how often you have been practicing  in that time period.

Thinking about it doesn’t get it done, you have to execute, even when it is uncomfortable. Especially when it is uncomfortable!

Closed mind

One thing that guarantees failure before you try is to decide that an yoga can’t possibly work. Your existing approach (the gym, running, swimming, etc) has not worked but that is a familiar concept so we will hold on to it and reject anything else as foreign, see how that works.

Over-competitive

A bit of healthy competition is good, it can lift the game for everyone, but sometimes it is taken to silly extremes.  It takes about six months for a student to get the ego out of their yoga practice.  You are competing with yourself and not with the other people in the practice room with you.

It is healthy to set a goal to improve your ability in a particular pose, but you also have to accept where you and your body are now and work gradually forward from there.  It may take years to reach that particular goal.  It’s good to have the goal, but don’t beat yourself up if you do not make the goal next week.

There is a difference between determination to succeed and needing to win at all costs, especially when it comes to the long-term game rather than the immediate battles.

And now it is up to you

Look over your successes (or lack of) in your yoga practice and consider if any of the above reasons apply. There are times when you may have given up too soon, switched to another activity and changed again, blamed outside influences rather than look at your own input, etc.

When you have achieved what you set out to do you  in your yoga practice you have had the right mind set and kept with it.