How To Win At Yoga

Any yogi you see doing something abnormal. Say a backbend, where they are holding their heels with their hands (that's bending backwards, mind you). It's easy to say, that it's due to natural ability. 

999 times out of 1000, you'd be wrong. 

It's rare where someone is born with super strength, balance or flexibility. Mostly, it's practice and persistence.

Those hands, got to those feet, only after practicing that move over years. Day in, day out. Month after month. Sometimes, year after year.

A very successful trader I know, says it takes 1,000 attempts to become proficient and 10,000 tries to master something.

Same when you see someone in the splits or say pressing to handstand. They would have failed those moves 999 times, before being successful only on the 1,000th attempt. Not only that.

They aren't just doing the move once every couple of weeks. They would've been practicing the move every day, over a very long period of time.

A good rule, is that you need to practice the move at least every second day. Maybe once in a while there are two days between attempts. But never three. You see.

Winning isn't about luck. It's pure persistence.

Tiger Woods wasn't born a great golfer, he became great, after a LOT of practice. He'd practice when the other golfers were practicing. And then he'd practice when they weren't. Slowly, he edged away from them.

The only difference between the winners and also-rans in yoga, is that the people with their hands on their heels in a backbend, wanted it enough to keep showing up, and practicing it, until their hands touched their heels.

The good news is that it doesn't take natural ability to do the advanced moves. They are available to everybody. But you gotta show up.

This can be hard if you say, have young children. Hard, not impossible. You plan, make concessions and negotiate to make the time and space available. Then you have to hit it.

This is long term, endurance type motivation. Most of the practice sessions you won't be seeing or feeling any type of progress. But you are progressing.

The plateaus and setbacks are all part of the process. You have to experience them on the journey to get to the destination.

Patience and discipline = winner.

CU in class, J.