Yoga is one of the most popular activities in the west. And there’s good reason for it. Yoga comes with multiple benefits for your body, mind and soul. It rejuvenates you on a physical and a spiritual level and has proved to help people with depression and even more severe mental ailments like dementia. However, there are still many of us who don’t get the full benefits out of our yoga routines. In this article, we have highlighted a few main reasons why yoga may not be giving you the results you deserve.

1.  Timing

Like most exercises, yoga is all about how much time you give to it. Just like doing a 10 mile run once a month will not really make you as fit as you want to be, an hour-long yoga session once every few weeks is not really going to show you any major (or minor!) results.

In fact, like any other thing in life, if you want something to work, you have to give it its due share of time. If you are tight on time, then the best thing to do would be to give yoga at least 10 to 15 minutes daily, and perhaps mix it with an hour-long class once a week. It will not only help you improve, but will also start your day off the right way.

2.  The wandering mind

Your biggest problem while doing yoga are the thoughts in your head. Yoga is presented to us as this magical experience which lets you empty your mind of all your troubles. A few minutes of it and suddenly your brain is free of all the troubles and stresses it had. Of course, as you have sussed it, yoga doesn’t quite work like that.

Yoga teaches the art of breathing and relaxing. Emptying your mind is also a learned art which you can practice successfully, but it will take some time to develop this skill. Talk to your teacher and see what you can do to speed up the process.  For beginners, just focus on your breathing, and relaxation will follow suit.

3.  The wrong teacher

Like almost anything in life, having the wrong teacher means you do not learn, you do not enjoy the process, and it definitely doesn’t work for you in the long run. The same applies to yoga. Yoga can have a different impact on different people. While some yoga classes are very intense,others focus on the accuracy of each pose. Others still are quite relaxed. Some classes are more focused on meditation and others give you a full physical workout. All of this is governed by the teacher. And how much you get from a class depends on how much you enjoy the teaching style of your guru.

The solution is simple. Try different teachers. If possible, try different retreats. If you are in an area where you do not have many options, you can always turn to the internet and try and work with various online instructors.

4.  The wrong style

Yoga comes in many styles. In fact, what may be yoga to you and me, may be a totally different school of thought to some one who is learned in the art. It is often useful to try a few styles of yoga before you settle on the one you like.

For example, if you like to sweat a lot, something like hot yoga or Bikram may be the one to go for. If you prefer not to, try something like Anusara. If your main focus is meditation with a gentle yoga, try something like Hatha.

What works for your friends may not work for you. What works for you may not work for your friends. Remember this and be open to trying new kinds of yoga and stick to what you feel great about.

5.  Expecting too much

Probably the biggest reason yoga may not be working for you could be this;you may be expecting too much. Yeah, the rest of the class all look hot and have great bodies and they can do everything so much better than you. However, you have no idea how long they have been working at it, or whether their bodies are naturally well suited for certain things.

Do not let any initial hardships and failures get in the way of your progress. Remember that you will need to give it your due time before you succeed and start having fun.

6.  You just don’t like it

Ah. This is probably the simplest reason of them all. For some of us, yoga just doesn’t work. We’d rather be running around, or playing a different sport. Swimming, or diving. Yoga just doesn’t do much for us. It’s not our thing!

To be honest, if you have tried all the various ways above, and it still doesn’t work for you, do not over do or push yourself. Try something else. You might just be the minority that can’t have fun while doing yoga!