Are you addicted to yoga?
Maybe not. But just in case, read on….

Yoga can be very addictive. And because it is recommended as a solution for good health, or because you have gotten some benefits from it already, it is easy to assume it is a GOOD ADDICTION.

Yet, are addictions ever a good thing when the foundation of all addictions is some loss of control over a specific behavior?

Why does this matter with your yoga practice?

When addicted to your practice, you don’t control your habit,                  YOUR HABIT CONTROLS YOU!

It affects your decisions and intention regarding your practice, It affects the quality of your movements…

YOUR HABIT PUSHES YOU TO OVERDO in an attempt to be comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Or it is simply ADDICTED TO WHAT FEELS GOOD AND FAMILIAR (whether it serves you or not).

All the while, you are unknowingly reinforcing limiting beliefs about yourself, all based on “I AM NOT GOOD ENOUGH”. Yap, that’s right even if you do not feel this on the conscious level!

I know a yin yoga practitioner who was addicted to her yin yoga practice because it always felt so good to stretch her body. Yet she had killed her muscle tone in the process and her body was aching all the time when off the mat. She could not step out of the cycle because she did not understand the root of her predicament.

When addicted, you dread the thought of skipping a class. YOU’RE AFRAID you’ll get out of sorts or worsen without your daily fix.
You may feel you’re not good enough if you can’t do a specific pose the way you want. So, you keep at it. You assume persistence is the only way to improve even if it is not so.

Or else, you feel you need to do more yoga to keep thin. To get a firmer and stronger body or be more flexible.

In the process, you become A CATASTROPHE READY TO HAPPEN

The tension you stretch keeps coming back day in and day out. And sooner or later, you get injured and you wonder why?

Do any of these scenarios resonate with you?

THE TRUTH IS: – You can challenge yourself and get awesome results without being addicted to your practice.- You can get fit without overdoing.

To be truly fit, your body must function well as the integrated whole that it is. When it does, you don’t experience excessive bodily tension or poor posture in your daily life. And,
– You feel that YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH BEFORE YOU GET TO THE MAT yet you don’t act overconfident acting from a need to show off (overconfidence is another form of not feeling good enough and it can still keep you disconnected from your whole body intelligence)
– Your yoga practice becomes a way to promote and MAINTAIN GOOD HEALTH rather than an ongoing attempt to fix your body.

If challenging yourself without fostering injury is what you REALLY want, if you want to enjoy yoga without the shadow side of addiction then join my next FREE MASTERCLASS!

“Learn 5 Strategies to Prevent Injury & Practice or Teach Yoga at your Best!”

Cecile Raynor has been teaching the Alexander Technique for over 25 years out of which came her Body Intelligence Activation Process™ (B.I.A. Process) to assist yogis in enhancing their practice towards best performance with optimal safety. She is also a Thai Yoga Massage Therapist and a Reiki Practitioner. Faculty at Akasha Yoga Teacher Training, she runs a 12 months Mastermind for Yoga Teachers with a Vision, and a 90 Day Live Online Program for trainees, new teachers and committed yoga practitioners interested in using their body more efficiently on and off the mat in a way not taught in regular training courses. She is also the author of a June 2018 publication called THE WISE WAY TO YOGA which is available on Amazon or from Cecile if you are local to Boston!