You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. This wise old adage is as applicable to the practice of yoga as any other endeavor. All of us Yoga Junkies want to see those that we love enjoy the benefits of yoga. Sometimes all we have to do is ask our loved ones to join us on the mat. For those lucky ones, this success can be overshadowed by our own frustration that they didn't immediately find the same love and dedication to the practice that we did. For the not so lucky; we ask, beg, or plead for our loved ones to take a yoga class only to hear all too often that they aren't interested. This can be disappointing for so many reasons. You know their back pain will diminish or that their joy will expand in many ways if they would just learn to love yoga. In either scenario, how can you possibly change their minds???
The short answer… you can't change their minds. You can only show up to your mat and walk your talk knowing that you have the greatest influence when you lead by example. The long answer… be patient and watch how the practice of yoga takes hold in your loved ones over time as you find your own dedicated consistency.
In the mean time, for those who do accept your invitation, offer your steady support to keep finding their mat at a pace that works for them. You never know when a deeper opening will occur. You just get to show up and do your practice without attachment. One day, the right words are offered by the teacher and they actually hear the message their own heart has been saying for years. Or, they show up in the right place ready to step into a deeper knowing, a deeper discipline and a deeper joy in the gift of life. We must all remember that yoga is a practice and it will happen at a rate in which each student is ready to step in more deeply.
The only practice we are responsible for is our own; and that is difficult enough. Open up on your mat and lead the way for everyone else to find their path and pace. Whatever aligns in the auspicious moment that captures the yogi’s heart and catapults them into a brighter light of their own awareness will happen much more quickly when they are given the space to find it on their own. This is equally true for those loved ones that may never know a sticky mat under their palms.