Will handstands make me a better yogi?

Let’s be real – I can’t handstand to save myself. But I can film myself doing a handstand against a door frame and then screenshot it and make it look pretty and anyone scrolling by will think I can do it. Truth is, I’m working on it. Bigger truth is, being able to handstand won’t make me a better yogi. It won’t make you one, either. It’s a cool shape and it has some great benefits for the body and mind, as all the poses do. But the poses alone are not yoga.

Can you sit with yourself? With your thoughts, your feelings, your reactions, and just BE there?

Can you pause before you react, and respond instead?

Can you find things that bring you back to your centre when there is chaos all around?

Can you come back to your breath, time and time again?

Can you practice kindness, to others and to yourself?

Can you be honest with yourself?

Can you practice seeing the light in others, even when they only show you their darkness?

Can you practice seeing the light in yourself, even when there is so much darkness?

Can you be strong enough to show your vulnerability? Your softness?

These are just some things that, to me, are yoga. Beyond the asanas. Beyond the shapes. I love the physical practice, don’t get me wrong. It feels so good in my body, it centres and grounds me, it soothes my mind, it brings shit up that I need to face. But it is not all there is to yoga. Yoga is in everything you do. Yoga is everything you do.