I was asked recently whether you need to change your lifestyle, diet, daily habits in order to get the best results from yoga.

It reminded me of a story that a creative yoga teacher (I’ll call her Tess) shared with me one day in Thailand. We were discussing the courses we were teaching back home and comparing how these varied depending on where you lived in the world and how we approached the needs of our potential students/clients.

Tess was asked to help her friend’s partner who was over-worked, stressed and out of condition. She agreed, set up a class and called it:

‘Yoga For Men Who Can’t Touch Their Toes’.

Word got around and a small group was formed including a few work colleagues.

Classes were held on early Friday evenings.

The men were keen to get some physical activity back in their bodies but were understandably sceptical. They didn’t really want anything to do with ‘yoga’ because they considered that would be sort of weird!

Tess, fully aware of their apprehensions worked slowly and patiently with them.

As a reward, they’d all have a beer or two afterwards. It was Friday night after all.

Tess brought the beer.

I know… But stay with me!

The social time after class worked really well, it was relaxed and fun.

As the weeks went by, the men became more confident in their practice and began noticing a significant change in their posture, mobility, flexibility, sleep patterns, stress relief.

They began to take their practice seriously.

Then one week, Tess was handing out the beers after class and one guy politely declined. He realised he’d prefer not to drink alcohol and had also begun to notice shifts in his choice of diet.

A couple of weeks later another colleague joined him and gradually the group began to naturally shift in a new direction.

Their practice had become a non-negotiable part of their week. They were reaping the benefits on many levels and enjoying the process. It was their group, they’d started and progressed together. No comparison, just accepting where they were and growing from there.

So no, you don’t need to change your lifestyle, diet, daily habits before trying yoga and yes, you can enjoy your beer!

However, one of the great benefits of practicing yoga regularly is that over time you find yourself naturally adopting a healthier lifestyle. No hard core diets and challenges. Just cultivating an awareness and noticing a shift to caring for your body and mind.

Are you ready to try yoga? It’s nearing the end of the summer holidays. Kids will be going back to school. Routines will be set in place and it would be great if you prioritised and scheduled in your self-care practice too.

Let me know if you have any questions or feel you need some encouragement.

Karen x

P.S. I’m preparing some new offerings in Luzern and look forward to sharing these with you soon. If ‘Yoga for Men who Can’t Touch Their Toes’ sounds appealing, spread the word and let me know. I’ll see if I can set that up too.