Embracing the Beginner’s Mind
One of the questions I get asked a lot is, “Why do you still practice yoga every day, even after all these years?” I think it’s because yoga continually reminds me to embrace the beginner's mind—approaching every experience with curiosity and humility, even when I think I know it all. The truth is, I’ve learned some of my most important lessons when I felt like a complete beginner. It reminds me of a student I had named David.
David was the kind of person who had his life all figured out—or so it seemed. He was successful, respected in his career, and the kind of guy who was used to being the expert. But when he came to my yoga class for the first time, he was anything but confident. He was stiff and awkward, and I could see the frustration in his face as he struggled to keep up with the flow.
I remember watching him during a balance pose. His foot wobbled, his arms flailed, and before he knew it, he was stumbling out of tree pose. I saw the look on his face—the same look I had years ago when I started practicing yoga. I could tell he was embarrassed, probably thinking, “What am I doing here?” But he kept coming back to class, even though every pose seemed to test his patience.
After a few weeks, David came up to me and said, “You know, I’m starting to get it. I’m not here to be the best. I’m here to learn. And I haven’t felt like a beginner in a long time. It’s kind of nice.” I could see the shift happening, not just in his practice but in his outlook. He had stopped trying to “achieve” each pose and started to experience them instead.
I’ve been there myself. When I first started yoga, I was all about nailing every pose, pushing myself as hard as I could. I thought that if I wasn’t going deeper into the stretch or holding the pose longer than the person next to me, I was failing. But I soon realized that yoga isn’t about being the best in the room; it’s about showing up, being present, and embracing each moment as it is. Sometimes that means stumbling, wobbling, or falling—and that’s okay.
David’s story is a reminder to me, and hopefully to you, that the beauty of yoga lies in approaching each day, each practice, with a beginner’s mindset. It’s about finding joy in the small progressions, celebrating the moments when we fall, and being humble enough to start over when we need to. It’s about remembering that we don’t have to have it all figured out. In fact, it’s often when we let go of needing to know everything that we learn the most.
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