A friend recently shared with us that his 8-year-old daughter started doing yoga totally out of the blue – no yoga classes, no parental persuasion. She had come across some images of people in yoga poses and began emulating them. With curiosity as her guide, she randomly experimented with various yoga postures in the comfort of her own home. She loves it! It makes her feel good.
This is a testament to the organic beauty of yoga. The story gives us gentle insight as to how the yoga tradition might have evolved over the last several thousand years. For something to last that long, it must work! There must be truth in it. Yoga endures because all you really need is a little willingness and genuine curiosity. No matter how old you are, what if you came to your mat with the curiosity of an 8-year-old? What if you left competitiveness and judgment off the mat and focused on thoughtful and fulfilling movement? Your cues might come from an instructor, but they would be inspired from within!