Is Yoga Enough?
When your passion becomes your whole identity.
The other day after class I asked a friend — another full-time yoga teacher and business owner — if she had any hobbies outside of yoga.
But the truth is… I wasn’t really asking her.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot myself.
Because on paper, my life is full.
I teach.
I run businesses.
I practice.
Yoga isn’t just what I do. It’s the current running through everything.
But lately I’ve been wondering:
Is that healthy?
Is that enough?
What Even Counts?
I noodle around on my guitar when I have time.
Nothing serious. Just sitting on my couch strumming through chords. Mostly Tom Petty songs.
When Tom Petty — my dog, not the musician — was alive, I cherished our long walks. I’d disappear for an hour or longer. My wife would text me:
“Where did you go?”
Nowhere. Just walking. Thinking.
I read constantly.
I go to live music shows (not as often as I like).
Are those hobbies?
Or are they just life happening in the margins?
And if they are hobbies… why do they feel like they need justification?
The Yoga Lens
Yoga teaches discipline.
It teaches devotion.
It teaches us to commit.
But it also teaches balance.
In the Yoga Sutras, steadiness comes from practice and non-attachment. Not obsession.
If everything in your life feeds the same identity — even a great one like “yoga practitioner” — it can quietly become rigid.
Beginner’s mind isn’t just about trying Headstand for the first time.
It might be about walking into an Aikido dojo and bowing awkwardly.
It might be signing up for Italian lessons and mispronouncing everything.
It might be hiking a trail you have to drive two hours to reach because the mountain isn’t at your doorstep.
That friction keeps you alive.
When I read How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy, what struck me wasn’t songwriting advice.
It was this: making something small, consistently, keeps you alive.
Not productive.
Alive.
Yoga does that for me.
But so does a guitar at midnight.
So did a long walk with a dog who never got tired.
So does standing in a crowded room listening to a band pour it out on stage.
3 Practical Ways to Keep Your Life Interesting (Without Blowing It Up)
1. Schedule One Non-Productive Thing Per Week.
One thing purely for curiosity. A museum. A language app. A guitar session. Protect it like you protect your practice time.
2. Be a Beginner Somewhere.
Take one class where you’re not the expert. Aikido. Italian. Drawing. A hiking group.
Humility is grounding.
3. Create Something Small and Private.
One page. One riff. One recipe. One sketch.
Not for posting. Not for feedback.
Just to keep the creative channel open.
Maybe the goal isn’t to find a flashy new identity.
Maybe it’s just to stay curious.
To let yoga support your life — not become the only room you ever sit in.
I’d love to know some of your hobbies for inspiration. Shoot me back a response — I would love to hear from you.
— Patrick
P.S. Retreat works the same way.
You step out of the role and back into being a person.
Practice. Good food. Long walks. Great conversation. Deep sleep.
Not an escape. A reset.
Like picking up a guitar with no plan.
Like getting lost on a trail.
You come back clearer. Quieter. More yourself.
Tour With Me
🌲 Maine Retreat – June 4–7, 2026 | Yoga & Writing in Nature
🌊 Portugal Retreat – July 5–12, 2026 | Madeira Island
🔗 PatrickFrancoJr.com — for all things me