Yoga Has A Dark Side - 10 Shocking Secrets Nobody Told You

Everything has two sides to it, good & bad, right & wrong, and so does Yoga. There is a dark side to yoga! Yes, you read that right. Enough of reading about the benefits and seeing beautiful Instagram yoga pictures. Yoga has a dark side that no one willingly informs you about. Please keep reading to know more.

You see, as yoga enthusiasts, we constantly extol the virtues of the practice. For the majority of us, the reason we want to shout yoga from the rooftops is that it has drastically improved our lives.

Some of us do shout, though!

But in actuality, yoga does have a negative side. A few good reasons exist why someone might want to think twice before starting or continuing a practice. Here is why you should forgo the practice to spare yourself any discomfort or sorrow.

1. The chili cheese fries will be ruined.

You may feel the heat in your body by just looking at them. So rather than having a regret at the back of your mind, you may completely avoid eating them. You will not force yourself to be restrictive; it will happen automatically. However, you will not regret it if you eat it occasionally.

2. You won’t spend as many late nights.

You will feel that late-night parties are superficial, unproductive, and sucking out your energy. Your brain may question the pleasure that others get doing late-night parties. Highly stimulating things or events will be a big no-no for you. You may rather like to observe the stars in the wide open sky. Or, you will rather sit home meditating room and enjoying your own company.

3. Enjoy drama? Avoid yoga.

Gossiping will no longer interest you. You will avoid fighting or getting angry about pity things to save your time and mental energy. Negative surroundings will not charge your Ego! You may walk away if others try to pull you into fights. Complexities won’t bother you much.

4. You will be forced to accept accountability.

You will feel like cheating with yourself if you give just 50% of your attention to work. Being transparent, accountable, honest & trustworthy will be a top-most priority. Others will notice this change, whether you are in the office or at home. When you are personally responsible, you accept responsibility for the outcomes of your decisions and deeds. When anything goes wrong, you will owe responsibility for it without blaming or excusing others, and you will try to apologize. You will ensure you know about your tasks and obligations to become more accountable.

5. Judging people will lose its appeal.

When you think too much of yourself, you start judging to feel a superiority complex. To judge is to distinguish, pick out, choose or pass comments. It implicitly indicates to condemn, punish—avenge, and come to a conclusion. You won’t judge others based on your preconceived ideas. Then you will try to see them as they are – a part of the Divine. You will further start seeing yourself in them. This will ensure that you treat them as you expect others to treat you.

6. Your wardrobe will be ruined.

You will prefer to lose clothes and don’t think about them much. You will lose interest in collecting highly branded expensive clothes. After all, the goal of yoga is to stay unattached from the body, mind, and senses.

In India, students arrive for classes dressed in fairly casual, comfortable, everyday attire and not expensive yoga pants. They only spend a few rupees to appear decent in class with their yoga accessories. In the end, yoga attire and other forms should be comfortable and allow movement. Even if you don’t want to wear yoga trousers or yoga pants, it is important to consider where yoga originated. This does not obligate you to wear a dhoti.

7. You’ll cry in front of people.

As you won’t judge others, you will not judge yourself too! You know how repression works on the mind. You know that tears shed for emotional reasons are filled with stress hormones that help the body rid itself of toxins brought on by stress. So, you are actually letting go of your stress in front of others because you do not care about judgments.

8. You’ll experience your emotions.

You can release the tension your body has been holding onto as a result of any emotional pain by engaging in yoga. Yoga’s physical emphasis can assist you in being conscious of your idling emotions. It helps you let go of emotion and re-establish connections with others. Yoga helps you to take your attention ‘within.’ You may notice that you’re becoming more in touch with your emotions as you pay more attention to what’s happening inside your body and mind than the outer world.

9. Yoga will expand your hips, shoulders, heart, and head, of course.

Let’s take the example of Deficit pushups, i.e., Chaturangasana. Deficit pushups require powerful shoulders, chests, and hearts in the “open stance.” When performing a classic yoga pose, Chaturanga, your shoulders should halt just above elbow level. It allows the heart and the pectoral muscles to open up while the abdominal, triceps, quads, and posterior chains remain active. Physical flexibility also opens up the mind too and broadens one’s perception.

Yoga serves as a holistic practice that goes beyond physical postures. Through intentional poses and mindful breathing, it works to expand not only the flexibility of your hips and shoulders but also opens up your heart and clears your mind, offering a comprehensive journey toward physical and mental well-being.

10. Your relationship with anything self-destructive will be destroyed.

It’s possible that a few yoga postures for bad habits can finally help you kick your bad habits, but in reality, yoga’s guiding principles can show you how to develop a way of life, build habits that are right for you, and how let go of the ones that aren’t.

The two yogic principles include ‘Yamas’ and ‘Niyamas.’ These essential deeds, obligations, and principles can direct you toward quitting unhealthy behaviors and developing healthier ones. Svadhyaya, which loosely translates to “self-study,” is one of the five Niyamas. You’ll become more conscious of your conditioned tendencies and the reasons behind them if you include the idea of Svadhyaya as an aim in your physical exercise. And this will make quitting your bad habit even simpler as you start to realize the reason behind your actions.