You show up to your favourite yoga class and the teacher says, 'we're going to start seated today". Ugh. You reluctantly find your way down to your mat, possibly struggling to sit comfortably.

We have it in our minds that we'll just plop down on our mat, cross our legs and sit easily like when we were kids. Then reality sets in as you begin the descent. The joints suddenly stiff. Muscles and tendons become MORE inflexible! The floor seems an eternity away. And landing is as elegant as a dropped sack of potatoes!

So why is a pose named 'easy seat' so hard to achieve?

When we come to our sitting poses it's often accompanied by a history of injury, aging bodies or neglect of our spines. So like any other exercise or movement, we have to meet ourselves where we are at in that moment. Learning to sit will make us uncomfortable due to misalignment of body parts or blocked energy (prana). Even for the most practiced yogi, there is still some unwinding and crackling through the spine as the body readjusts and makes it way back to balance.

Let me reassure you that in Pantajali's Yoga philosophy teachings from two thousand years ago 'learning to sit is one of the essential skills a Yogi must develop'. Develop is the key word in that sentence..It is like any other pose, something that we continue to work on.

So, how do you enjoy sitting cross legged if you struggle to do it?

First, adjust the pose using props. I love props. Its makes so many poses accessible for my body. Sitting on a bolster, cushion or block will raise your hips above your knees helping to relax the hip flexors and reduce the impact on your knees.

Ditch the pose altogether by making it your own.When you drop expectations of what you 'should' look like in the pose, you can give yourself permission to recreate something that aligns with where you are physically.

And finally, practice at home with poses like butterfly (seated or reclined) and happy baby. You can look these up or jump online with me and do some hip opening classes. When you practice at home you don't place that expectation on yourself to line up with what everyone else is doing.

At the end of the day, remember that its your body, your yoga, your way.

See you on the mat,

Tracy