What's Required to Start a Yoga Practice?

When I was in high school I wasn't very athletic.  As a 4' 11" incoming freshman at an all girl high school, basket ball obviously wasn't an option.  Field hockey, I wasn't really all that coordinated. I tried out for the cheer leading team and didn't make it, still not quite sure why. Hmmmm, could be that coordination thing.

Why am I bringing up all of these ghosts from the past, which I thankfully have learned to let be in the past. Well, coincidentally, a gal that I went to high school with is now a student at Santosha. We really didn't hang around (do they still say that) in the same group but knew of each other and it was nice to re-connect. I had asked her the other day if she ever thought she would be taking yoga classes from me.  Her answer....".no, because you weren't athletic in high school."

So that brings me to the title of this post, what's required to start a yoga practice?   Do you have to be a certain height or weight....nope.  Do you have to be in a certain age group...nope. Do you have to be coordinated...nope.  Do you have to be athletic...nope.

So what is required?  Do you have to be able to breath...yes. Do you need to have a willingness to to change....yes.  Do you need to have the understanding that there is a another way...yes. Do you need to have the ability to honor your body...yes.  Do you need to possess the desire to have fun...yes. Everything else will follow.

There is a song from the mid 1960's by Buffalo Springfield (yes I keep on telling you that I am that old) and the first two lines of the song are  "There's something happening here. What is is ain't exactly clear...  I play it sometimes in my classes because the lyrics remind me of the magic of yoga.  Not sure sometimes how is all happens but it just does.  How do you start.....just breathe.