Yes, you can get angry even if you practice yoga

There is an old misconception that is still around in the yoga world and, let’s be honest, behind it. And that is if you practice enough poses, meditates or sing for enough hours or Long enough you will magically transcend your emotional response to things like traffic jams, annoying colleagues and that friend still has not returned your reserve yoga mat. Yogis should float through life in a bubble of eternal calmness.

But let’s really be, yogis get angry. And that is not a bad thing.

Yoga is essentially not about erasing emotions. It’s about knowing yourself. Complete. That means recognizing the entire range of what exists in you: peace, happiness, sadness, frustration, desire and yes … anger. Pretending that anger does not exist does not make you ‘enlightened’. It just makes you suppressed.

Anger has a goal. It is a survival reaction, connected in our nervous system to protect us when something threatening or feels unjust. If someone exceeds a border, anger is often the first signal that something needs attention. It is as if your body’s internal alarm system says: “Hey, this is not okay.” Without this we would probably tolerate much that we should not.

So the question is not, should yogis get angry? The better question is, what do we do with anger when it comes to?

Managing anger is where the practice of yoga enters. Yoga and the inherent element of mindfulness are not about eliminating anger, but about creating sufficient consciousness to respond wisely. Instead of removing, sending the text that you regret, or hold on to resentment as if it is your latest favorite song on repetition, pause. You breathe. You notice, “I’m angry.” And then you become curious about what is below. Is it injured? Fear? A violated value?

When we approach anger with consciousness, it becomes information instead of destruction. Sometimes the competent reaction is speaking, setting a boundary or saying ‘no’. Other times it realizes that your irritation is not about the person at all for you – it’s about your lack of sleep or the fact that you have skipped breakfast. And often, when we pause long enough, we notice what we are angry about, not our control. The emotion, when observed, can teach us about what we appreciate and what we need, but sometimes it is exactly that – a signal, not a solution.

The real yoga is not about being calm 24/7. It is about practicing discernment. Getting angry if anger is suitable. Let the show are not running. And that comes back to dealing with anger.

So can yogis get angry? Absolute. I would even claim that we should do that. Unconscious reactions unleashes is what is not acceptable.

Related: 6 ways to (consciously) move through your anger

Photo credits:

Row 1, from the left: Raamin Ka | Not -Spel; Maria Korneeva | Getty Rafie | Not -Spel; Debashis RC Biswas | Not -Spel; Oly | Pexels

Row 2, from the left: Simran Sood | Unsplash; Ann Tarazevich | Pexels; Maria Lysenko | Unsplash; Unsplash; Ann Tarazevich; Krivitskiy | Pexels

Row 3, from the left: Mikoto | Pexels; E. Diop | Unsplash | Simran Sood | Unsplash; Dmitry Vechorko | Unsplash; Sergio Kian | Infativate