Why Try To Rip Off Your Own Leg?

Flexibility does not increase a yogi's value

Photo/ Kues/ Shutterstock

This post was written by Kyla Dagenais

To be present, we must surrender to what is and let go. 

In relation to the physical practice of yoga, this means releasing the expectations we hold about our bodies and, for a moment, letting go of expectations that exist in the mind.

At the depths of our being, we know our true potential. We bring our concept of life to the mat. We practice the same way we live.

Some of my students felt they would be more valuable the more flexible they were. 

These people gaze at others and measure their worth. They are continuously peeking over at the others and gauging their good-ness — as long as they are more flexible than Sue at the back of the class, going to yoga was ‘worth it’.

I will never forget the yoga struggle of a particular overachieving student. 

No matter how many times I gave the direction to soften into the body and relax into the pose, each time she pulled a little harder on her leg to the point I was concerned that she was going to rip it right off her body. I brought the entire class to a different pose to prevent her from achieving her goal.

In the studio, I say I will not be handing out cookies to the most flexible. But I will offer encouragement to the person who is most in touch with their breath. Those students are showing the courage to rest in what is and go beyond the fantasy of how they wish it were. 

I felt for the lady trying to be valuable to herself, or more valuable than the less flexible, by trying to rip off her own leg! I could only imagine the lengths she would go to, away from the mat, to prove her worth.

This is the truth: We are either born strong or born flexible. The depth in the poses could never measure anything. We are naturally more one than the other. The less flexible tend to have a more rigid mind, and the flexible could benefit from more strength.

To gauge the success of yoga on the body is silly.

“There is always one leg-ripper per yoga class.”— Kyla Dagenais

In the foundations of yoga teachings, it is clear that you are of value if you are here on the planet. You hold the potential to come into yourself as you are. There is no need to heal. You are whole in your perceived brokenness. There is always room for growth, but, regardless, you are here. Therefore, you are worthy.

Yoga is a big-money industry.

Many teachers and gurus post ads telling others they hold a secret, and, if you pay the right amount of money, you too will know this secret. You will heal if you pay, and therefore, your worth will increase. 

Yoga magazine covers have pictures of beautiful, blonde ladies in exotic places. Their bodies are contorted into different shapes, unachievable for most humans. They try to persuade you that a photo on your social media of you doing a ‘standing backbend’ on the grounds of a temple in Indonesia will be the epitome of your practice.

This has misled many to believe that the practice of yoga is for the perfect and that the goal of yoga is to reach perfection. 

“Perfect body, perfect love, and a perfect life exist at the end of a backbend!” So promises yoga media. 

This idea negates the yogic teaching that all is perfect as it is — yes, all of it. The perceived good and bad are both required on this journey, as they are only reflections of the fantasy we have created about our lives.

I had to sit with this teaching for a long while before I could accept it, so I understand if it is a little off-putting at first. But can you remember a time when circumstances in your life were unfavorable to the plan you had, but turned out, in the end, to work out better than you had expected?

This is where a flexible, open mind can serve us well, not trying to rip off our legs to get where we think we want to go. Instead, to accept where we are and observe, in curiosity, where we will arrive next. Not to force life in the direction we want to go. Allow life to open up in front of us, approach it with curiosity, and play like a child.

This releases the tension and opens up much more than our minds to experiences we didn’t see in our limited perspective — it also opens up our hearts, bodies, and souls.

Can you remember the last time you approached even one day from a sense of play and wonder?

With love,

Kyla