If you have taken any of my classes in person or watched any of my recordings one phrase you will hear from me over & over again.

“Notice how this side feels different in this pose compared to the other.”

This type of observations come from the yoga philosophy of svadhyaya or self-study.

Why am I constantly bringing this up, always saying this in each and every flow? There are many reasons. Mostly, to remind myself not to be hard on my body when I feel I was able to get “deeper” or “hold it better” in a pose on one side but then I’m constantly falling out of the pose when I try to do the other side.

I tend to forget that my body is not perfectly symmetrical. Outside, obviously. If I stare at a selfie long enough I’ll see which eye is higher than the other. I know one foot is longer than the other and other outward non-symmetrical stuff.

But, the inside, muscles, joints, tendons are also not symmetrical. Not only that but our liver and heart are not symmetrical in our bodies and our lungs are even different sizes to compensate. So, why do we expect to be able to mirror yoga poses on each side?

I am of the opinion that social media has ruined many things. One of them being able to accept imperfection. Not just in the yoga community but a lot of others as well. So, lets take a step back and embrace our weaknesses & strengths.

What I find most fascinating about a “weak” side of the body compared to a “tight” side is how each side beautiful in it’s own way. Have you ever noticed that our “weak” side is the side you probably are able to flex or stretch a little more? The “tight” side on the other hand, can hold longer, push deeper?

Yoga is about acknowledging. So, what in your practice do you need to acknowledge? Instead of feeling bummed that you can’t rotate deeper in one direction embrace the difference and know that side doesn’t need more strength conditioning. Can you rotate deeper in the other direction? That’s also good. You now know that side doesn’t need more stretching.

Acknowledge that each side needs different things. Each day we need different things. Each moment we need different things. Plans change, ideas change and so should our practice.

Just think of how much you can get from your yoga if you come to the mat in acceptance and not forceful perfection. If you are able to do that for just a few minutes on the mat and build from there that’s all it takes.

What would happen if you took that off the mat and embraced weaknesses & strengths in your daily life? Can we meet the day, the circumstance in the moment with acceptance of our strengths & weaknesses and not forceful perfection?

Most people I know are aiming to be better each day, daily improvement or building good habits. That’s wonderful. But sometimes we get caught up in thinking we already have to able to do these improvements and we beat ourselves up.

When I was reading Mudras, Yoga in Your Hands by Gertrud Hirschi she had a wonderful outlook on this mentality. By approaching daily improvements with a life long outlook, or as a sculpture improving their statue day by day with out worrying if it ever gets finished.

So, what side of your body is more flexible? What side of your body is stronger? Embrace that on the mat today. Then, embrace where you are flexible or strong in your daily life off the mat. How can you bring more svadhyaya or self-study even when you are off the mat?