Every yoga win is a big win.
(Photo: Canva)
Published August 26, 2025 05:14AM
Yoga is not about competition. Still, there are some moments in class that feel like undeniable wins. These are usually quiet and personal happenings (hello, easeful inversions!).
We asked our editors and followers which seemingly tiny yoga wins deserve more hype. The answers ranged from making it to your mat (perhaps the biggest win of all) to a graceful transition to Wild Thing. What matters most is the feeling of presence or accomplishment—and allowing yourself the space to celebrate that.
So go forth and honor your small successes on and off the mat! That, too, is yoga.
30 Tiny Yoga Wins Worth Celebrating
1. Making it to your mat at least 5 minutes before class begins.
2. Making it to your mat at all.
3. Practicing yoga at-home with consistency.
4. Not feeling like you “messed up” Savasana just because you were having trouble calming your thoughts.
5. Exchanging hellos with other students in class, making the studio feel like a little community.
6. Challenging yourself to attempt that arm balance, even when it low-key terrifies you.
7. Laughing with, not at, yourself when you bungle said arm balance
8. Catching your fumbled water bottle before it clangs loudly to the floor.
9. Allowing yourself to opt out of a pose that doesn’t feel right.
10. Trying a class in a different style of yoga than you usually practice.
11. Waking up and randomly loving a pose that you previously detested.
12. Not judging the substitute teacher for the crime of not being your regular teacher.
13. Remembering that it’s not about how a pose looks, but how it feels.
14. Executing any inversion with a sense of ease.
15. Knowing that yoga isn’t just a 60-minute studio class—it can also be a quick pose or breathing break anytime in your day.
16. Realizing that you’re clenching your jaw, holding your breath, or hunching your shoulders and releasing—in class or in life.
17. Finding a yoga studio you can walk to from home.
18. Understanding that it is conceivable for Downward-Facing Dog to be a resting pose.
19. Hearing a new-to-you cue that changes everything about a pose for you.
20. Refraining from judging anyone in class, for any reason.
21. Not letting the fact that someone else set up in “your spot” ruin your practice.
22. Remembering to breathe.
23. Remembering to wipe down your yoga mat.
24. Using blocks to support a more aligned posture.
25. Ignoring what’s happening on the mat next to you.
26. Gracefully flipping your Down Dog to Wild Thing.
27. Showing up wearing whatever the heck you want (even if that means old sweatpants and a faded t-shirt) and not worrying what others think.
28. Touching your toes—even if yoga is so much more than that.
29. Learning not to take your poses too seriously.
30. Wrapping class and realizing you were entirely present throughout.
