Has anyone here ever quit yoga?

[ALeafInCobra]

I have practised for over 6 years, mostly Iyengar yoga, and due to several personal and health related changes am considering winding it down and moving on to something more appropriate for me at this point in my life. I don't need advice at this point, and am happy with where I am at, so my post is really about others rather than myself, if that makes sense!?

I am interested in other people's reasons for quitting yoga, as I can't find much information about it online, apart from connections to injury. So I am just fascinated really, because yoga does seem to generate such a huge amount of positive press (because it's great!) yet rarely any discussion surrounding why an individual might choose to stop practising it.

For instance, I have an old friend who quit a few years ago due to not getting along with class 'politics' (she had a weird teacher, I think!) and didn't feel as inspired or comfortable with self guided practice at home.

A colleague quit recently to to suffering headaches and dizziness, even with supervised practice. As far as I know he has no medial issues generally.

So it doesn't suit everyone, yet there's often a sense of yoga not being able to have a negative impact (anyone who rejects it must be 'flawed', etc), a sort of evangelical attitude that perceives the practice as beyond criticism, so I would prefer to avoid that kind of discourse here.

Like any interest out there, it's a mixed bag of reward and frustration , and of course there are physical limitations for many practitioners. I am also sure that we all perceive yoga very differently, from how we approach it/use it to the philosophy integral to it.
For me, I seemed to just 'fall out of love' with it at some point, as my life and interests changed. I never practised yoga for fitness reasons, I was more on the meditative side of things, and have grown more interested in meditation without movement in recent years. So, a simple enough reason for me, but I would like to hear other people's thoughts and realisations if they ever quit practising.

Apologies if this ought to be in another section. If so I can paste it elsewhere :)

I did. I did it alot in my early to late thirties and then just stopped (probably coinciding with a pregnancy/move to a new city, not because I disliked it). I took up running instead which I loved.

I came back to yoga last year at 51 and love it again. Although I'm not as flexible now (yet) you don't really forget it.

I think OP if you don't love it, you don't need to justify quitting and trying something else. You can always come back to it when the time is right.

I stopped it because they kept on chanting in the sessions. I'm a Christian and it doesn't Sit well with me to chant. I'm very weary of taking it up again because of that. But then there are many other sports and a type of sport for each and every type out there.

fwiw I use both yoga and running for their meditative qualities rather than the other benefits - for me that's the main purpose of exercise (apart from weight training which I do to build muscle and joint strength) and any other benefit is just incidental.

I stopped doing asana for two and a half years when I suffered crippling injury as a result of hypermobility. I switched to pilates for movement. But to me the poses are just one part of yoga, I still lived the yamas and niyamas, plus the pranayama. I'm now back doing asana and loving it but I've deconstructed my whole practice and rebuilt it. My body is different now.

I think people band around "yoga is great" but yoga varies so dramatically you really have to know what you're recommending. For example, a yin class is not good for someone hypermobile with low muscle strength. It does annoy me when people think it's always a gentle form of exercise. It's not!

That's interesting, thanks. Yes it is always there to return to of course!
I don't need to justify my own journey with it, though. I am fine there. I am interested in why others quit as there isn't a lot written online about it.

I suppose the largest reason will likely be changes in lifestyle.

Meditation is one of the eight limbs of traditional yoga and is usually considered more advanced than asana (movement).

It seems to me your practice has developed rather than you falling out of love with it.

More on the 8 limbs:
www.ekhartyoga.com/articles/philosophy/the-8-limbs-of-yoga-explained

I have seen a few Christian yoga practitioners on youtube, perhaps have a look at those, see if they appeal?

I have phases in and out of regular practice. It's there whenever I'm ready for it. 🙂

Also stopped yoga and switched to Pilates and bare after being diagnosed with hyper mobility and experiencing severe problems practicing yoga during pregnancy. I did yoga for more then 20 years but only now know how dangerous it for me.

It's so important to know our own limits. It isn't the type of practice that suits pushing oneself, or rushing forward. I always avoided the more extreme inversions, I have a few issues with my neck so had to be really careful.

Always a good idea to check in with GP before steaming ahead, or if experiencing issues after practice.
The apparent 'softness' and slowness of yoga does seem to impress beginners that it is not physically demanding, but it is!

I do yoga at home from time to time but I've never enjoyed a yoga class because the teachers are always touchy-feely and that makes me feel both pissed off and really uncomfortable. Eg: teacher comes up from behind and pushes my knee forward hard, or I'm in downward dog and she comes up behind, puts her hands on my hips and pushes me forward to stretch more. I think they should just speak rather than touch.
All of the teachers were women and I never felt that they were pervy but I really didn't like a stranger touching me like that, especially without saying anything first. Never had this with any other kind of teacher/instructor.

Also I felt yoga classes were always so serious - I tried it so I can go and relax, not trying to be perfect but I felt they would always strive for perfection, which is the opposite of relaxing to me.

Much better at home with youtube!

I don't think a GP would have any understanding at all about yoga. I was repeatedly told to do yoga when dealing with facet joint injury and pelvic instability and this was the exact opposite of what I needed. It's seen as low impact but repeated strain on hypermobile joints can be dangerous over time and most people who's joints go outside normal range of motion have no idea so they aren't even aware. And most yoga teachers don't know this either!

I did a Christian yoga class for years and loved it. Then we moved and I've never found a good fit since, it's been either chanting, or competitive people trying to shove you into a corner to give themselves space or other weirdness. I've pretty much given up.

I had to stop cos all the classes round here have stopped due to low attendance ☹️
my old injuries are starting to flare up again without yoga so on holiday this week going to try get into a stretch routine to help that cos I do work out in the gym

I've stepped away from yoga because I'm not getting much out of it at present, but I'll go back to it at some point.

I find it really difficult to find yoga classes that actually teach you yoga rather than just taking you through the positions. Most of the time I have no idea what sort of yoga they're instructing us in, which makes it difficult to find the right type to adopt a practice in. And telling me the name of the positions (usually v quickly) doesn't actually explain the practice to me.

Try Ashtanga Mysore classes - is the most detailed instructions I’ve ever had as they teach one on one

I see your point. I mean if a person is suffering headaches after every session, it would still be a good idea to check in.

I loved yoga and practised regularly both at home and attending classes. However I then did a yoga teacher training and it sadly seems to have killed off my love, even though my teacher was amazing. It was very intense, especially over lockdown, and I wonder whether the sheer workload took some of the magic away. I also feel in general there is a lot of pseudoscience and conspiracy type info being bandied around among the teaching community (inc my fellow trainees) especially since covid, vaccines, lockdown etc. I hasten to add there are many amazing teachers out there but for me personally this left a bad taste.

in the meanwhile I am pursuing other things and hoping I will find the love again at some point in the future.

Yoga always breaks me. Tried different types, classes, etc. The posts about hypermobility above make sense to me.

Horses for courses.

I also think yoga has become such a commodity (expensive studio's, competing fields, overpriced clothes and water bottles, etc) that it can be difficult for a beginner to negotiate through the 'noise' of it all. It is such a personal thing, to me, and another person's practice might be detrimental to us.

The sheer amount of women who quit their day job to tech yoga suggests that we are at peak trend with it too! It is interesting to look at stats and articles that explore its popularity in the west. So much of it is vanity/image based that it takes some cutting through the fluff to reach an authentic community.

I did prefer practising alone though. Trickier, and a touch more open to injury, but great to design a path that is just right for you.

I did yoga for a good few months. I enjoyed it at first - it was nice to move different bits of my body in different ways.

Then one class a random voice in my head said "Really, is this good?" and I realised that I hated it. It was slow, boring, wrapped up in hippy bollocks about auras and energy. I took up martial arts and weightlifting instead and have never looked back.

The yoga teacher gives me evils when she passes the weights room on her way to her boring-ass class every Wednesday evening

I always enjoy yoga and the way it makes me feel mentally, but I always stop because it crucifies my lower back every time.

I'm with you, and yet I am what I might describe as spiritually open. Not religious at all, but I do like to explore consciousness and mind potential. The thing is, this is so intensely personal and different for everyone, so to preach/force nouveau-spiritual ideas onto students smacks like bad practice.

There's a definite faux-enlightenment culture surrounding many yoga communities, again closely tied to profit and vanity. I can see why many religious people would feel offended by that, even though I don't share their religious beliefs. It's about authenticity isn't it? - there's this huge trend in yoga circles involving who is the most pure, clean, enlightened, vegan, etc.
Run a mile from that!