I have heard a lot of people talk about how the yoga space should be a place of non-judgement but I personally think this is a mistake.

Unnecessary comparison to other students is obviously not very useful. No one has the same physical make-up and because of that people will have a natural level of flexibility, strength, etc. based on their genetics and bodily conditioning that may have taken place throughout their lives. Because of this, looking at someone else’s posture for guidance on how to do yours is an exercise in futility*. It would be like studying an oil painting to understand how to bake a pie (although if we try hard enough I am sure a parallel could be draw between any two seemingly unrelated concepts).

So self-judgement or judgement of others through a comparative lens is not very useful. Does this mean we should throw judgement out of the window altogether? The answer, in my opinion, is an unequivocal “no”.

In the practice of yoga, a high level of judgement is required, but maybe in this case a better word might be discernment. Without a highly critical eye one can never see the aspects of the asana that require attention or improvement (critical in this context meaning “expressing or involving an analysis of the merits and faults” [of a particular object, concept, form, etc.]**). Without seeing your practice in this way, how would you ever initiate change? And where would the impetus to change come from?

What we need here could be described as a non-judgemental judgement. A clean self-examination that doesn’t descend into internalised derision or self-praise, but just sees what is happening and then asking, “What is necessary, what is required, what is the bare minimum that I need to do in order to make this posture, this meditation, this act more effective, healthy, precise and honest?”

*The obvious exception here is the demonstration of a pose by a yoga instructor as they are showing what the intended outcome of the pose might be as a guide. The purpose here is to encourage understanding rather than empty mimicry.

**Google dictionary, definition #2