I saw this question on a yoga FAQ and I confess, it made me laugh, although it is a good question.
Yoga will not improve your personality – there is nothing wrong with your personality. Regardless of who you are, you are a perfect being in and of yourself. But here are a few comments on what yoga can do for you, for yourself in terms of your personality.
First of all, a regular practice of asana will leave your body in better condition; that is to say, it will tone your muscles, make your body more supple and likely decrease any chronic pains you may experience. A toned body will also increase your self-esteem because you know you are taking better care of yourself.
Secondly, adding regular meditation to your practice by making it part of your yoga practice will calm your mind, making your perspective clearer. A calm mind leads to a more stable emotional state, cleaner life focus and greater confidence in your own abilities.
Thirdly, there are other forms of yoga that do not involve asana practice or meditation, for example, Bhakti Yoga is the yoga of devotional chanting – if you enjoy singing then this form of yoga can bring some joy to your life. Jnana yoga is the yoga of knowledge, if this is important to you, as it is to me, then increasing your knowledge will add confidence and purpose to your life. Karma yoga, the yoga of selfless service, is good for the soul because giving of yourself feels good. If giving of yourself is something you want to do, then adding some sort of service or volunteer work will fulfill that desire in you.
And lastly, and definitely the most important in my opinion, yoga will increase your love for yourself. When you love yourself, you project that out into the world sincerely because it comes from within YOU and it is an expression of your true Self and true nature.
So the short answer is paradoxically, no and yes. Yoga will not improve your personality because there is nothing wrong with you. Yoga in and of itself is not a cure all for any lifestyle, issue or personal insecurity – what yoga does is dependent on what you make of your yoga practice.
Yoga and meditation do assist in creating a calm, stable, toned mind and body, but it is YOU that creates this for yourself. As it should be – if you treat yourself as a Divine being, you will feel divine. It’s that simple, not necessarily easy, but simple.
Namaste (the Divine in Me honours the Divine in You)
Jenn
