Fit the Body to the Pants or the Pants to the Body.

My jeans just don’t fit like they used to.  They’re tight around the waist, and that’s not good for comfort or digestion.  And it’s not a good look to walk around with them unbuttoned (though I’ve done that….a lot lately).  What is responsible for this? There’s the “Covid 19” (though I haven’t actually gained 19 pounds during the pandemic), some predicted weight gain from the hormonal breast cancer drug I’m on, and a surprise – possible abdominal swelling due to lymphedema after radiation treatments to my breast.  And of course, perhaps simply aging.
 
Sigh.  So I made a decision – a wise one, in my humble opinion. I could deny all of those things and keep on buttoning up my tight jeans and then unbuttoning them.  And feeling discomfort and a little shame in not (ever) being able to keep my belly in shape (whatever that means).  OR I could accept those new realities, adopt a “no shame, no shame” attitude, and buy a pair of better-fitting jeans.
 
That’s what I did.  I’ll turn 68 this month, and the wise woman in me said, “accept this reality, stop beating yourself up, be comfortable – and make sure the jeans are stretchy, too.”  That’s self-compassion.
 
It turns out that yoga can be approached in the same way.  I’ve heard plenty of people say, “I can’t do yoga because I’m not flexible enough” or “I don’t have a yoga body” or  “I’m too old to start yoga” or some version of self-shaming that suggests that it’s about fitting our body to the poses. 
 
But it doesn’t have to be that way.  The style of yoga that I teach (slow, mindful yoga that is rooted in the Viniyoga tradition) is not about fitting the body to the poses.  It’s the other way around.  It’s about adjusting the poses to fit the body – every time.  And focusing on the functional purpose of the poses rather than on their form – understanding how the poses support the body’s systems, rather than how close our poses come to the “perfect” version of the poses  (which isn't a helpful concept anyway).
 
Here's what Gary Kraftsow says in his book Yoga for Transformation: “From the standpoint of practice, Viniyoga—the particular lineage that serves as a basis for this book—is based on the principle that each of us is different and that practice must respect these differences… it suggests that the practices we adopt must be relevant to who we are in our current life situation.”
 
In Yoga for Wellness, Kraftsow says: “As your lifestyle evolves, your condition will change—and your key to wellness will be your continuing ability to adapt to changing circumstances.”
 
 
So we can try to fit the body to the pants.  We can try to do poses and practices that aren’t right for us – maybe they never were, or maybe they just aren’t serving us well anymore.  Or we can embrace the aging process, tune into how we are changing, and stop shaming ourselves. We can check in with ourselves each time we practice and move slowly and mindfully, choosing poses and practices that feel safe and supportive. No pain, no pain.  No shame, no shame.
 
And we can fit the pants to the body.