How does one get into yoga?
Our visiting professor asked me this question yesterday and his question made me feel more confident that I know my research area. I have been feeling insecure lately maybe because I feel that my topic is not really very significant and it won’t make any contribution to the field. Although at the same time, I always remind myself that if my supervisors are ok with the topic and the overall design of the project, then that means I am moving on the right direction. Talking about my research and my reasons for practicing yoga yesterday got me pumped up.
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So how does one get into yoga? In my observation, some people get into yoga because they are looking for something that can help them with their illness. Some may have gotten into yoga because their friends had been doing it and kept on inviting them to join them, while some may have innate interest in mind-body connection.
One study that I have read examined people’s reasons for starting a yoga practice as well as their reasons for continuing. The authors found that the top three reasons why people do yoga are: to get some exercise, to improve flexibility, and to decrease stress. All of which are extrinsic motives. Not that extrinsic motives are bad but we want people to have more intrinsic motives so that they continue to practice yoga.
According to one popular theory of motivation, when extrinsic motives have been “internalized”, meaning that we have valued the outcomes that we get from participating in an activity or that doing the activity has become a part of who we are, then it’s ok - these extrinsic motives will keep us moving. Motives are intrinsic when we do yoga because we enjoy doing it, we like the challenge that it gives us, or simply because it’s fun! Interestingly, some of the respondents in that study mentioned that they started doing yoga because they were curious about it. Being curious means getting interested. And interest is considered intrinsic. Thus, while most people might start yoga not because of yoga itself but because of the benefits that they get from it like a good workout or feeling relaxed, there are some who start yoga because they’re curious about yoga as it is.
But what made people continue? The primary reason was spirituality. Perhaps as people practice yoga more, they discover that yoga is more than just an exercise program and that it involves a holistic approach to overall health and well-being. Other reasons cited were self-discovery, euphoria, and enjoyment.
This made me think if, as yoga teachers, we should immediately introduce the spiritual aspect of yoga right at the start. Some studies that I’ve read suggest that the “yoga being a spiritual practice” is one of the reasons why people don’t even try it. Perhaps as teachers, we should acknowledge that there are some people who come to yoga primarily for its health and fitness benefits, and there are some who come to yoga because they understand that yoga can offer more than that.
When I studied pranayama at Kaivalyadham many years ago, I learned that they categorized yoga practitioners into two: the physical culturists, or those who practice yoga for health, and the spiritual culturists, or those who practice yoga for spirituality.
I guess what I’m hoping to drive at is that if we really want more people to do yoga, then we need to understand that people will have different reasons for doing it. If at the beginning, they want to practice yoga because they want to improve their health or to manage stress, then that should be fine. No judgement. It is our duty now to make them come regularly. By “our” I meant “teachers or messengers of yoga”. When people experience something positively and feel good afterwards, they are more likely to come back.
***
I told the professor that I started doing yoga because of my quest for a movement discipline that I could practice until I get old. My background was in sports science and physical education, so I felt that I needed to have a movement discipline that I could practice for life. It had to be holistic also that it will teach me not only how to take care of my body, mind, and spirit, but also how to live harmoniously with others. And yoga provided me with all of these. As Swami Kuvalyananda said, “Yoga has a complete message for humanity. It has a message for the human body. It has a message for the human mind and it also has a message for the human soul.”
***
For the geeks out there who wants to read more about that study or the motivational theory:
Park, C.L., Riley, K.E., Bedesin, E., & Stewart, V.M. (2016). Why practice yoga? Practitioners’ motivation for adopting and maintaining yoga practice. Journal of Health Psychology, 21(6), 887-896. doi: 10.1177/1359105314541314
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 49(3), 182-185.
doi: 10.1037/a0012801
***
So how does one get into yoga? In my observation, some people get into yoga because they are looking for something that can help them with their illness. Some may have gotten into yoga because their friends had been doing it and kept on inviting them to join them, while some may have innate interest in mind-body connection.
One study that I have read examined people’s reasons for starting a yoga practice as well as their reasons for continuing. The authors found that the top three reasons why people do yoga are: to get some exercise, to improve flexibility, and to decrease stress. All of which are extrinsic motives. Not that extrinsic motives are bad but we want people to have more intrinsic motives so that they continue to practice yoga.
According to one popular theory of motivation, when extrinsic motives have been “internalized”, meaning that we have valued the outcomes that we get from participating in an activity or that doing the activity has become a part of who we are, then it’s ok - these extrinsic motives will keep us moving. Motives are intrinsic when we do yoga because we enjoy doing it, we like the challenge that it gives us, or simply because it’s fun! Interestingly, some of the respondents in that study mentioned that they started doing yoga because they were curious about it. Being curious means getting interested. And interest is considered intrinsic. Thus, while most people might start yoga not because of yoga itself but because of the benefits that they get from it like a good workout or feeling relaxed, there are some who start yoga because they’re curious about yoga as it is.
But what made people continue? The primary reason was spirituality. Perhaps as people practice yoga more, they discover that yoga is more than just an exercise program and that it involves a holistic approach to overall health and well-being. Other reasons cited were self-discovery, euphoria, and enjoyment.
This made me think if, as yoga teachers, we should immediately introduce the spiritual aspect of yoga right at the start. Some studies that I’ve read suggest that the “yoga being a spiritual practice” is one of the reasons why people don’t even try it. Perhaps as teachers, we should acknowledge that there are some people who come to yoga primarily for its health and fitness benefits, and there are some who come to yoga because they understand that yoga can offer more than that.
When I studied pranayama at Kaivalyadham many years ago, I learned that they categorized yoga practitioners into two: the physical culturists, or those who practice yoga for health, and the spiritual culturists, or those who practice yoga for spirituality.
I guess what I’m hoping to drive at is that if we really want more people to do yoga, then we need to understand that people will have different reasons for doing it. If at the beginning, they want to practice yoga because they want to improve their health or to manage stress, then that should be fine. No judgement. It is our duty now to make them come regularly. By “our” I meant “teachers or messengers of yoga”. When people experience something positively and feel good afterwards, they are more likely to come back.
***
I told the professor that I started doing yoga because of my quest for a movement discipline that I could practice until I get old. My background was in sports science and physical education, so I felt that I needed to have a movement discipline that I could practice for life. It had to be holistic also that it will teach me not only how to take care of my body, mind, and spirit, but also how to live harmoniously with others. And yoga provided me with all of these. As Swami Kuvalyananda said, “Yoga has a complete message for humanity. It has a message for the human body. It has a message for the human mind and it also has a message for the human soul.”
***
For the geeks out there who wants to read more about that study or the motivational theory:
Park, C.L., Riley, K.E., Bedesin, E., & Stewart, V.M. (2016). Why practice yoga? Practitioners’ motivation for adopting and maintaining yoga practice. Journal of Health Psychology, 21(6), 887-896. doi: 10.1177/1359105314541314
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 49(3), 182-185.
doi: 10.1037/a0012801
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