Come and play yoga

I liked the high jump, the long jump, the hurdles, the javelin, the discus. I liked the techniques, and learning how to use different equipment. I liked how it made me feel, regardless of whether I was doing better than anyone else. I don’t remember any teacher encouraging us to focus on the enjoyment of the activity for its own sake. We were always being judged on whether we'd win competitions for the school.

On the other hand, as an adult, I've discovered so many events that are about sport for fun. I found in my mid 20s that I could run without having a massive asthma attack — I think that pranayama practices helped to strengthen my lungs and now I'm a slow but steady runner. I've done Cancer Research runs, triathlons where half the fun is making sure the transition from one event to the other is smooth, and Park Run, whose catch phrase is: 'It's a run, not a race'. The joy in many of these events is the community, possibly shared fundraising for a common cause, the fact you’ve chosen to get out there and do it. There are so many opportunities for adults to exercise for fun, to challenge yourself, to satisfy yourself, to focus on feeling good. Why can't that joy be instilled at school?

Which brings me onto yoga. When I attended my children's and teen yoga training courses, we were advised that when approaching schools, we should emphasise the non-competitive nature of yoga. That it can help those children who have already turned their backs on competitive sport. That it offers them some form of physical activity when they may have rejected all others. That it focuses on whether you feel good inside, rather than whether you are more bendy, or fast, or tactical than someone else. That if we just keep moving, whether it's competitively or not, it's so good for our mental health, too. I loved the playful approach on the courses I did, the emphasis on fun rather than perfect alignment.

Over the years, I've tried to bring more fun and enjoyment into my adults' classes as well. There are various yoga poses that I need to modify in order to demonstrate, having tight shoulders and hips and a stiff thoracic spine. You'd think that practicing yoga for years and teaching several times a week would have loosened me up a bit — and maybe it has — but I just can't do certain poses without belts or blocks. Or walls. Or chairs. I used to think that the goal of yoga was to work on my flexibility, to push myself to the edge and beyond. In the back of my mind were further goals: to make my right and left sides more symmetrical, cure all ills, iron out all the kinks and basically achieve physical perfection! Not only have I abandoned those 'goals', I've actually learnt to love my body more and be grateful for what it does for me.