Quote Originally Posted by OakLeaf View Post
Like most things, from food to disease, north/western culture places so much emphasis, from infancy onward, on NOT listening to the body, that it can be very difficult to unlearn those lessons and listen to the guru within.
This is true, though I've not thought about it before. All those "pain is a sign of weakness leaving the body"-type sayings...

I've taken one yoga class through my undergrad institution. She actually wasn't a bad teacher. She gave tips on how to modify positions if we needed to. Her favorite thing to say was "Yoga is not supposed to hurt. If it hurts, back off," though this was a class pitched explicitly for beginners. I wonder if her more advanced classes had the same kind of tone.