If you look up #yoga on Instagram you get over 14 Million results. It is everywhere on social media (#yogaeverywhere – 880000 results :)). Do you know how many of those posts include arm balances, deep and complicated backbends or hands-free head balances? A lot.

Now, I understand that to a lot of people, seeing these amazing men and women in these amazing poses is inspiring and motivational. It may encourage them to practice on a day they weren't feeling like it or try that pose they were feeling frustrated with last week, one more time. I’ve certainly experienced that and I think it is wonderful and I hope people keep on posting! However, if I had a dollar for everyone who has ever said to me – “oh Yoga.. I can’t do that I’m not flexible enough”, or “I can’t do Yoga! I can’t touch my head with my toes or turn myself into a pretzel!” along with many other variations of “Yoga is hard and unattainable for me” – I’d have more than a few dollars.

I would like people to know that you can do yoga even if you can’t touch your toes. You can let those hands of yours rest on your shins when you fold forward from your hips – it’s still Uttanasana and you’re still doing Yoga. Yoga is not all handstands and backbends – however there are some major benefits to incorporating those types of postures into your practice when you’re ready. Yoga is about breathing and moving in a way that feels good in your body. It’s about connecting to your body in a way you may not have before. It is about having fun and relaxing! It certainly can be about sweat, work and creating some gorgeous postures, but it certainly isn’t about expecting someone to turn themselves into a metaphorical or literal pretzel. So, in an attempt to show that to people, I am going to work on keeping my social media representative of my daily practice, and although some of the poses you may find on my instagram may not look as impressive as others, I promise the benefits are. Please feel free to follow along!

Instagram: @sandrayogawpg