Let's Begin Again

How to Bring a Beginner’s Mind to Your Yoga Practice

Have you ever stepped onto your yoga mat and felt like you already knew how the session would go? The poses, the flow, even how your body might respond? That’s natural, especially if you’ve been practicing for a while. But what if you let go of all that? What if you walked onto your mat like it was the first time: curious, open, and ready to explore?

This is the spirit of shoshin, or “beginner’s mind.” It’s a concept from Zen Buddhism that invites us to approach each moment with fresh eyes and an open heart, like a true beginner would. Even if you’ve been practicing yoga for ten years, try to show up like it’s Day One.

Imagine for example that you're in Downward Dog. You’ve done it a thousand times. You know where your hands go, you know to lift your hips, you know the feeling in your hamstrings. But today, instead of going on autopilot, you pause. You really feel the ground beneath your palms. You notice how your breath moves through your body. Maybe your heels are closer to the floor than usual, or maybe they’re not. It doesn’t matter. You stay curious, and you let it be new. That’s beginner’s mind.

What Shoshin Looks Like on the Mat

The beauty of shoshin is that it brings your practice back to life because you stop looking for perfection. There is no pressure to perform. The focus is on being truly present, and with presence comes discovery.

Try this the next time you practice, even for just one pause. Pick a pose you know well. Instead of getting into it by muscle memory, ask yourself: What does my body want here? What happens if I lengthen a bit more or rotate a bit more? Can I adjust a bit to feel more expansion? What about my breath, what’s happening there? Maybe you’ll find more depth, maybe less. The key is to let go of trying to “get it right.” Let it be an exploration, not a performance.

Sometimes it is really challenging to do that, especially with the so called simple poses. Can you be as curious in a pose such as Tadasana, the Mountain Pose? The easier the pose, the more we tend to believe there is nothing else for us to discover. But this is something worth challenging.

Let Go to Let In

One of the biggest gifts of beginner’s mind is releasing the grip of the ego. It’s easy to get caught up in what you should be able to do by now. Or to compare yourself to others in class, or to your more flexible self from last year. Shoshin reminds you that the goal isn't to master this advanced pose. The goal is be present, be curious, and grow.

Sometimes that means trying something new without feeling the need to get it right. If you fall out of the Tree Pose? That’s perfectly fine: that’s real learning. Failure is part of the process but fear shouldn’t be.

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
— Samuel Beckett

And yes, some days your body may feel tight or tired or different than usual. That’s okay, too. Instead of pushing through with frustration, meet yourself with kindness. A beginner doesn’t expect to be perfect: they expect to learn.

A Little Mantra

Recently, I’ve started in my own practice to use the following little mantra:

“In this breath, I begin again.”

I really like it and use it both for yoga and Breathwork. It helps me not to fall into a routine, but also not to become ‘blasé’. It's a gentle reminder that we can always learn even when we go back to basics.

So next time you roll out your mat, forget what you think you know. Let go of yesterday’s story and start fresh. Sometimes, that’s where the magic begins.

Much love

Véronique