When The Imperfect Desires Perfection

There are times when you are sitting in a yoga class and the guru says repeatedly,”It’s OK not to be perfect.”

I roll my eyes whenever I hear it.

I almost always believe it’s a sheer joke or a remark filled with pretention and hypocricy at its most subtle and ambiguous. Confusion is what such words lead us to.

To err is humane, but to forgive is divine. And most evidently, to err and not to forgive imperfection is very humane. That holds true in this case, when someone with flaws — both major and minor — still sets a very high standard for others.

What is the problem with being imperfect?

That I can’t understand.

So I try to say this to myself and my students,”It’s ok to be imperfect. It is no big deal when you can’t do challenging poses just like Iyengar did. Embrace the flaws. Comprehend them‎. Because who knows your flaws can turn into your forte in some inconceivable way? It may take a simple yet fundamental shift of paradigm or perspective to accept your flaws. As you shall believe who you are includes your flaws.”