Transforming Performance Yoga into Mindful Practice

Have you ever found yourself in a yoga class, caught up in the practice of performance yoga? Looking around the room, noticing what everyone else is doing? Comparing your body to theirs, your version of the pose to theirs?

Maybe the teacher offers a few options and you pick the harder one, even though something in you whispers it’s not quite right. You stay there anyway, because everyone else seems to.

It’s such a common thing to do, and I see it all the time in class. A student pushes on when I can see their body asking them to stop. They’re striving, pushing, reaching for a version of the pose that isn’t meant for them today (or maybe ever).

And I get it.

For some, this may be a case of the ego trying to “show off.” But it is also maybe more about the silent conditioning that has been with us for years. The West is a world that rewards achievement and measures worth by how much we can do or how well we appear to be doing it. A world that praises progress, not presence. And over time, that same mindset has crept into the yoga room, showing up as performance yoga.

So when we step onto the mat, that conditioning often comes with us. We want to “do well” at yoga, to look the part, to keep up. We don’t want to be the one modifying, or taking the gentler variation, using props for support or lying down when others are standing tall.

I’ve had people tell me time and time again that they don’t come to class or don’t want to start yoga because they “won’t be good” at it, or they think they will be “bad at it”, as though yoga were something to perform and do well at rather than a space to show up as you are.

But here’s the paradox: the more we fall into the trap of performance yoga, the more we lose touch with the true purpose of our practice.

In fact, Performance Yoga can massively distract us from our inner selves. And yoga isn’t about what it looks like from the outside. It’s about what it feels like from the inside. It’s an inner practice, a relationship with your own body & mind, your own breath, and your own truth in that moment.

When we start comparing, striving, or pushing beyond what feels right, that relationship shifts. We’re in performance mode, and we’ve turned something sacred and inward into something outward again and into another way to measure ourselves and our worth.

And this becomes even more important if you live with chronic illness, injury, trauma, or anything that shapes the way you move and feel in your body. Because what works for someone else in the room might not work for you. In fact, it might actually do more harm than good.

Your body has its own history, its own thresholds, its own language, and it needs to be listened to differently.

That’s why the idea of a bespoke practice matters so much. Not in a fancy, personalised-programme kind of way, although this can also be super transformative and a worthwhile journey to explore, but in the sense that your yoga needs to be shaped around you.

To practice effectively, we must move beyond Performance Yoga and focus on our needs.

The teacher’s role is to offer guidance and options, but it’s your job to sense what actually feels right in your own body. And that becomes even more important in a general mixed class, because a teacher simply can’t offer thirty different versions of every pose for each person. They can only give a few general options and trust that each person will take what they need.

Some days that might mean lying on the floor while everyone else is flowing. Other days it might mean moving more slowly, or skipping certain poses altogether. And on other occasions, the push is needed and welcomed. Learning to tell the difference takes time, and it comes from listening, really listening to the quieter cues of your own body, and trusting that inner discernment to guide you.

This isn’t “doing less.” It’s practising honestly, in tune with your ever-changing needs, rather than falling into this idea of performance yoga and doing what looks impressive instead of what feels right.

And when you start to tune in like that, when you trust your own experience more than the expectation of what yoga “should look like”, something beautiful happens. The practice starts to meet you where you are, rather than asking you to meet it somewhere you can’t go.

Samskaras and Self-Awareness in Yoga

Every thought, every action, every reaction leaves a kind of imprint. Over time, these build up and start shaping how we respond to the world.

One of the reasons we practice yoga is to become aware of our own samskaras, and perhaps, in this lifetime or the next, work toward transcending some of them, moving closer to a sense of liberation.

So when we step into a yoga class and feel that urge to “keep up” or “do it right,” it’s not just happening in the moment. It’s also a reflection of our conditioning, years, maybe a lifetime, of believing that our worth comes from achievement, from comparison, or from how we appear to others.

Those are samskaras in motion.

With that mindset, Performance Yoga becomes a tool for self-discovery rather than competition.

And yoga isn’t trying to erase those patterns overnight. Rather, it gives us a space to see them, to notice when they show up in our practice and to respond differently, if we choose. Over time, that awareness can extend beyond the mat, gradually shaping the way we move through our daily lives.

So maybe one day, instead of pushing into the deeper pose, you choose to pause, and to listen.

You choose the simpler option, not because it’s easier, but because it’s wiser.

That moment – that conscious shift is how new patterns begin to form.
It’s where the practice starts doing its quiet, transformative work from the inside out.

Bringing Awareness into Practice

So, how do we start to step off the treadmill of comparison and performance yoga, and tune into what’s actually right for our body and mind in the moment?

Here are a few practical ways to bring this awareness into your yoga practice:

1. Pause Before You Move
Before entering a pose, take a breath and check in with yourself. Notice what your body is actually asking for today: strength, support, softness, or rest.

2. Use Options as Guidance, Not Rules
When a teacher offers variations, see them as invitations, not obligations. One day, the simpler variation might be exactly what your body needs. Another day, a deeper option might feel nourishing.

3. Give Yourself Permission to Rest
Lying on the floor while others flow isn’t “cheating”, it’s listening. Rest is part of the practice, not separate from it.

4. Notice Samskaras in Action
Pay attention to the urges to push, compete, or compare. Can you just notice them without judgment? Even recognising the pattern is a form of practice.

5. Bring Awareness Off the Mat
Once you practice tuning into your body and choices on the mat, try carrying that awareness into daily life. Notice moments where conditioning shows up, in work, relationships, or expectations and see if you can respond more consciously.

From Performance Yoga to Presence

At the heart of yoga is not how a pose looks, or whether you “measure up” to anyone else in the room. It’s about turning inward, tuning into your own body, breath, and mind. Yet, too often, we fall into performance yoga where we push, strive, compare, and try to meet expectations that aren’t ours. Performance Yoga can become a barrier to true practice and potentially stunt our spiritual and personal development.

Recognising this is the first step. When we notice the pull of conditioning, the samskaras that have shaped us, we can start to make conscious choices. We can choose the variation that feels right, pause when our body whispers “enough,” and meet the practice on our own terms. This isn’t about doing less; it’s about practising honestly, in tune with the ever-changing needs of our body and mind.

The beauty of yoga is that the mat becomes a training ground for life itself. Each moment we choose presence over performance, we build awareness and trust in our own experience. We learn that our worth isn’t measured by how deeply we can bend, how long we can hold a pose, or how closely we mimic someone else.

Our worth is found in showing up, listening, and responding to what is truly right for us.

So the next time you step into class, remember: yoga is not a performance. It’s a space to explore, to notice, and honour your body and mind. By practising this way, you begin to shift patterns not only on the mat but in life, choosing awareness, compassion, and presence over comparison and striving.

That’s where the true transformation begins.

Share with others: