Judgement. This is a loaded word. Everyone judges everything on some level. Even if to just dismiss the thought of judgement, we are brought back to a judgmental mentality. Humans are judgmental beings and are especially judgmental of themselves.

Be Yourself

In the words of Judith Lasater, “To view yourself  as bad or as a failure because you did not accomplish what you set out to do is judgement. To state clearly and simply that you did not accomplish your plan is taking responsibility.”

This quote from her book, Living Your Yoga, resonated deeply within me. I think that this is something most people have never thought about. Yoga is about being present and when judgement enters into the mind, the mind cannot be present. Everyone is their worst critic and I often have this come into my mind when I am on my mat. I will be in a class and when we get to a particularly difficult pose, I will struggle or take longer to come into the pose than others. I start to beat myself up a bit for not being able to get into a particular pose in that moment. Yoga is not about a ‘no pain, no gain’ mentality. There are days that poses come to me and others when they don’t. This is okay. It all comes back to the fact that you are enough. You are enough as you are, in every moment. Perfection is an illusion that should not be strived for. Perfection is subjective and you are perfect as you are.

This is a hard concept to grasp. Many people do not think of themselves as being perfect as they are. There is always a flaw or something else to focus on. Changing the perspective one has regarding theirself is an incredibly challenging process. It takes time and awareness to move away from an ingrained internal cycle of judgement. Have faith in yourself. You can do whatever you set your mind to. As cheesy as that can sound, it is absolutely true. Have faith in yourself, your abilities and allow the magic of yoga do its work on you.