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Beginner's Mind
- rebmendez23
- Apr 28
- 3 min read
This was how I started my class yesterday: let's approach yoga today with a beginner's mind. Use your practice today to learn and be patient with yourself as you learn. What if you didn't know how to do Warrior 2 (or any other pose) and took a beat to watch the instructor and then set it up for yourself, adjusting and feeling it as you practiced, avoiding a rote "just step into it" mindset. No comparisons to how you did it before because you are a beginner. Pause and then practice. Discover the pose anew.
A few people commented afterwards that it helped them. Encouraged them. They slowed down and appreciated the poses. Appreciated how they practiced and took the extra time to focus and be patient in their discovery. There was extra kindness present. Thanks for sharing that with me.
What if that beginner's mind was possible in other areas of our life too? (asking for a friend....) Where can we be more patient and more self-aware, observing, pausing, and then doing. Could we offer that to ourselves and also assist others by setting an example?
When I spend time with my 4-year-old great-nephew he does it unconsciously, automatically. He embraces every experience with fresh eyes, even the ones we have done before, observing and being present in it. We can have a sticker book or color together and each and every time it's new. How great is that?
May 2026 marks 4 years of teaching my Yoga for Healthy Aging class at Sellwood Yoga. WOW! It has flown by, these 4 years of Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:30am, and right now for where I am in my life a "Beginner's Mind" feels apropos. If you come to my class you may hear this phrase again, or not.
But even if I don't say it, know that I am probably thinking it, using beginner's mind to stay in the moment and perhaps it will assist me as I attempt to keep my My&YourLeft and My&YourRight squared away. (I bounce back and forth from mirroring and that can be super confusing!) My beginner's mind will let me make mistakes and correct myself without embarrassment because I am in a room full of beginners!
Beginner's mind also will appear in my workshop Yoga for Grief Relief (this Friday, May 1 at 2pm.) It will be the 5th time I teach this workshop and the last time before I pause for a summer break.
Grief is another area that beginner's mind could be helpful. Not that we want to sit in grief anew every day, instead an opportunity to let it be at the forefront, not hidden. At my workshop we don't speak aloud what grief we are carrying, instead I offer a small space and small moment of time to set it aside. Or to allow it to be present and up front (yes, there can be crying) while we move, meditate and rest together.
What can you approach with a beginner's mind?
the taste of a cookie
a new walking path
a yoga class
a beautiful bouquet of fragrant flowers
your favorite pair of shoes
a new tea flavor or coffee drink
what else...
Have a good time experiencing something for the first time! And when we see each other (or email or text each other) please share your Beginner's Mind observations. Thank you!
