Why Am I Always Stiff And Tense As I Take Up Yoga Everyday

It depends on what type of Yoga you are practicing and for how long. If you are really practicing Yoga in the true sense of the word, there is no reason why you should be feeling stiff and tense all the time. Yoga is all about relaxation. But, for this you will have to be ready to let go.

Yoga is an experimental science an age old, holistic science and art of living aimed at attaining positive results; primarily good health – physical, mental and emotional. To this extent, the ancients have evolved many a technique and practice to help facilitate better health. Yoga is an eightfold path consisting of the following:

1.  Yams (restraints)
2.  Niyams (observances)
3.  Asana (yoga exercises and postures)
4.  Pranayama (breathing exercises)
5.  Pratyahara ( inward withdrawal of the senses)
6.  Dharana (concentration)
7.  Dhyana (meditation) and
8.  Samadhi (a state of super-consciousness)

The first two steps, ‘restraints’ and ‘observances’ are guides to good behavior with a view to staying out of trouble. Steps 3 and 4, which are yoga exercises and postures and breathing exercises, deal specifically, with the physical health and well being of the practitioner. The 6th and 7th steps, concentration and meditation, deal mainly with the mind and heart and this is where your problem is dealt with directly. Concentration and meditation are not stiff, rigid practices, devoid of helpful hints and guidelines. The philosophy and techniques of Yoga were, in actual fact, laid down by the sage Patanjali, with their basis in the teachings of one Kapila Muni in the philosophy of Samkhya, many centuries earlier.

The crux of Samkhya is that if humankind abides by the 4 bhavas (attitudes) viz. duty, knowledge, renunciation and self-reliance, he – or she – need never encounter, let alone suffer pain and misery of any sort. The names given to them were dharma (duty), Jnana (knowledge), Vairagya (renunciation or detachment) and Aishwarya (self-reliance). If you have been taught and are practicing Yoga with these attitudes, you can never be stiff or tense. Yoga is a day-long, life-long indulgence. So when going through your daily routine and performing your asanas (poses), pranayamas (breathing exercises) and meditation – ask yourself the following questions:

1.  Am I doing my duty, honestly? Or am I true to my calling?
2.  Am I doing this to the best of my ability with a view to improve my knowledge and learn more from it?
3.  Am I attached to the act and its fruits or am I detached? Can I do what I do with a sense of renunciation?
4.  Am I really self-reliant and capable of independent decisions?
Follow this and you will never be stiff or tense.