The Loss of Wonder

Beginner's Mind in the Yoga Practice

Every week I meet and talk to students who say that yoga is challenging. Yet we are all mistaken sometimes about why it is challenging. At some point in our yoga journey, we struggle with asanas, like sitting crosslegged, mastering a handstand, or having trouble keeping the breath free or the mind silent in meditation. Those physical and mental aspects indeed have their own roadblocks to overcome, but the real challenge lies in something more subtle: maintaining a pure, open mind.
In Zen Buddhism, there’s a phrase called Shoshin, or “beginner’s mind.” This mindset is one of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions. It’s about approaching each practice with curiosity and receptivity, rather than with accumulated knowledge or expectations. In yoga, this is a valuable concept, as it encourages us to approach every practice, pose, breath, and moment as if it’s brand new.

Think of your first Sun Salutation. You might remember the joy of discovering your breath moving with each movement, the newness of every sensation. But as we repeat our practice—two, three, or a thousand times—it can become all too easy to lose that sense of wonder. With time, many practitioners may fall into routines, attaching expectations to what each pose should look or feel like. In those moments our practice has plateaued and we might feel stuck or uninspired.
“The paradox is that the emptier you are, the fuller you will be.” Our original, beginner’s mind is empty, overflowing with endless possibilities. It is whole, abundant, and requires nothing external to feel complete. This is not a state of “knowing it all” but rather a state of “ready for anything.” When we allow ourselves to be open and present, our minds become like a blank canvas resilient to judgment or comparison.

For all of us, nurturing a beginner's mind is a way of engaging with life. It’s about keeping yourself open, adaptive, and resilient. The practice of yoga, at its heart, is about staying receptive, staying fresh, and letting go of limiting beliefs about what we can or should achieve. Remember: “In the beginner's mind, there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind, there are few.”