Self-taught vs Seeking a Teacher

Perhaps one can say I began as a self-taught yogi. I remember seeing my friend Inêsh doing headstands and backbends, and wanting to do the same. I immediately looking for beginner yoga videos on YouTube and followed a long. The poses weer challenging, but I was sure I did a great job.

And I was.

I gained significant strength in my arms and my legs. I soon no longer needed someone to pick me up when I wanted to do full wheel pose. I soon became confident enough in my skill that I ventured into various Instagram yoga challenges. Kino MacGregor was my yogi of choice because her challenges ranged from easy to extremely challenging. And I would have continued self-practice if my mother didn’t urge me to start attending a yoga class.

So after over a year of self-practice, I walked into my first yoga class. I expected it to be the same as practicing at home, but it wasn’t. Being in a yoga class was challenging. My yoga teacher was constantly correcting my alignment and pushing me beyond my comfort zone. It was a step I was happy I was encouraged to take. From that day my home practice began to evolve. I now knew when my alignment was wrong or when I was pushing myself to far.

Being a self-taught yogi means that you may not always be conscious of alignment. You may not always know how to prevent injuries in your practice. So whenever people ask me if they teach themselves yoga, I saw “Yes. But find yourself a local yoga teacher that can guide you”. It is  beautiful thing to grow your yoga practice that caters to your unique needs. However attend classes and learn from other yogis. Classes help you gain courage with attempting difficult poses you may find intimidating and reduces the chances of injury.

Attending a yoga class can only grow your practice, even when you are a ‘self-taught’ yogi.