As yoga teachers we sometimes hear the phrase "I am not good at yoga".

What is often meant by this is that people do not meet their own expectations of what their bodies "should" look like in yoga poses, expectations based on images seen on social media or in books.

Yoga is not a performance for the entertainment of others, it is a pursuit undertaken by you for you. There is no good or bad, certainly no judgment to be made and no pre-requisites in terms of the body you bring to the mat; if you can breathe, you can do yoga, it really is as simple as that.

Yoga is for everybody, you start where you are and no matter how often you practice, there will always be somewhere to go; not to get "better" but to gain more self-awareness of the body and clarity of the mind.

Just stepping on to the mat requires us to let go of both the ego and the inner critic that constantly judges and compares, and to completely surrender ourselves to being present in the moment with only our breath for company.

Most of us are not used to being physically or mentally still and letting go can be difficult and at times uncomfortable. But with practice, we learn to connect to our breath, to let it move us and by focusing on it, create space in our minds to draw back from the reactive state in which we mostly dwell and to tune in to our inner voice so often drowned out in our busy lives.