Blog: What IS yoga anyway?

I was having dinner the other night with a neighbor, and a dear old friend from college on beautiful Balboa Island and the question came up, again: What is yoga?  

This question actually comes up a lot. Many people, especially that are new to yoga, think that yoga is all about physical postures that people put themselves into and THAT, is the totality of yoga. Then they think they can't "do" yoga.  I've often heard people say, "I can not come to a yoga class because I am not very flexible."  Please know, this is akin to saying, "I can't take a piano lesson because I don't know how to play the piano." So, you see, there are some misconceptions about yoga out there that I would like to begin to address. I will start with the "not coming to yoga because I am stiff" one...

I would like to say here that if you are "stiff" you CAN come to yoga, and not only can you come, you probably should come. When we are little babies, we are very flexible; but as we age the body tends to tighten up a bit unless we actively move and stretch our bodies in certain ways.  Even by the time children are in elementary school they can begin to tighten up.  (I have taught yoga to elementary school students and I know this to be true.) Many can not even touch their toes. There are also the athletes: very active, maybe quite muscular, yet not very flexible, particularly in certain areas depending on their sport. Runners for instance often have tight hamstrings, as do cyclists.  So, why do yoga?  Why be flexible?  Why do we care?  I'm in good shape.  Right?

Wrong!  I will start by saying that if we "don't use it, we lose it."  We will gradually become tighter, and less flexible as we go.  Everyone has seen the elderly man or woman walking around who is very hunched over, yes?  They actually have to look UP to see what is in front of them. This is due to many years of gravity pulling on the body, muscle memory changing, shortening tendons and ligaments, etc...  AND, no movement to counteract the gravitational forces of nature. That same person doing yoga for life would most likely look quite different.  Think Tao Porchon Lynch in the attached video.  Tao is currently in her 90's, definitely not hunched and completely AMAZING!  Watch the attached video above.  (Another Shero of mine.)

Also, know that you can, and should, begin where you are.  (In truth you have no other choice.)  So, you start with a beginner's class, or a level one class.  You start slow, and easy.  (Just like Tina Turner said to Ike when she was rolling down a river; SLOW... and EASY...)  I have heard this concept explained as follows... You will take MANY steps to walk into the middle of a forest.  You can't simply just turn around and STEP out with one. You must begin to walk again, little by little, only in the other direction. It takes time. You begin where you are and little by little you notice things are starting to change.  You can move a little easier, bend a little farther, reach a little higher.  You are starting to feel a little better too. Your over-all sense of well-being has improved.  Hum... What IS this yoga thing?  Well, it is many things and I will continue to SPLAIN :) a little more, next week.

By the way... April 15th I will be doing a workshop from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. at YogaWorks in Newport Beach.  It is called, Yoga for Healing.  It is for everyone!  Yes, YOU can do it.  You might be healing from cancer, cardiac surgery, or a broken heart.  You might simply want to relax deeply so your body has time to restore and heal on a microscopic level, thus reducing stress and anxiety.  Overall think of it as a time to gently rest the body on a soft pillow of relaxation. You will have the opportunity to reduce the stressors of everyday life and come to that place where the body can do it's best healing, effortlessly! If you go to the "EVENTS" section of the Patch and click on April 15th you will be able to view the flyer. (Basic information is also attached in the following link.)

http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ws.asp?studioid=-10&stype=-8&sTG=45&sVT=45&sView=day&sLoc=10&sTrn=100000564&sDate=4/15/2012  

Namaste...

(The light in me salutes the light in you, and when we are in this place together we are one.)

Blessings, Bella