Archive for July 20th, 2009

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Some Yoga teachers and practitioners get caught up in the pursuit of perfection.  Will perfection help those who know us?  The pursuit of perfection is noble, but if we become perfectionists, we will likely drive away those who love or care for us.

Have you ever attended a Hatha Yoga class, where nobody could do anything right?  In such classes, the teacher spends the session reminding everyone about how much they are imperfect.  Nobody can stand, sit, lie down, or breathe to the teacher’s satisfaction.

The entire Yoga session could be devoted to performing one or two techniques until the teacher is 100% satisfied that everyone is absolutely perfect.  If this seems a bit odd, or sounds like something similar to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) – that could be the case.

However, let’s avoid a diagnosis, at this point, and grasp an understanding about the aggressive pursuit of perfection.  Self-awareness is a little off, when we demand perfection from our students or anyone else.  We eventually cause severe emotional damage to our relationships. 

If we teach Yoga classes like this, we would have to wonder about the sanity of the students who stay with us through hot summers and cold winters.  Would they really need Yoga, or would they have a driving need to be verbally assaulted?  

The truth is: None of us is perfect.  We are all humans, which unfortunately is less than perfect.  We can achieve excellence, and we can win awards, but it is difficult to be perfect in all matters.  If we cause ourselves mental and emotional damage, because of unrealistic demands, how can we resolve this?

If the case is severe, or obsessive, one should set up a session for counseling with a professional.  On the other hand, if this is a small matter, one should wake up to the fact that every day begins and ends with a few mistakes in the middle.

If every inventor demanded perfection, there would be no inventions.  Life is a matter of learning from our mistakes.  In order for a child to learn to walk, he or she, will have a few falls along the way.  The same principle applies to our path in life.

Life is a matter of taking one step at a time and learning from each step.  We adjust our direction and do our best to arrive safely at the next destination.  For the Yogi: The same principle applies to practice – whether it is within a class or at home; we do our personal best because that is the best we can do. 

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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