Something about yoga
“I can’t join yoga because I am not flexible,” says a friend of mine, while another one says being too heavy doesn’t allow her to start yoga. But their comments come from so many misconceptions about yoga. And no, it’s got nothing to do with religion (as how it has been viewed by some Muslim countries that have banned yoga), but does have some connection with the Hindu tradition as this was the cultural root from where the practice sprung from.
The popular practice of yoga is everywhere in Metro Manila, as seen by the steady rise of studios and teachers in the past five years. Plus there are a variety of styles to choose from, while visiting international teachers come visit. Iyengar Yoga focuses on precise body alignments; Bikram Yoga’s forced sweat uses heat from outside the body to flush out toxins as yoga asanas (or poses) are barked out by teachers in a prescribed sequence. Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga’s more intense sequence of poses have been put together for optimum total body work with breath and core strengths aligned together. And there are the slower and gentler classes such as Shivananda or Vinyasa Flow that can be more meditative. Yoga studios such as Pulse Yoga (Greenhills and Makati) offer a variety of styles including pre-natal classes which allow mothers-to-be to align deeper with their bodies through their breath connected with their awareness of the child they carry inside them. The breathing exercises also help the mother prepare for her coming date with the stork. Yoga Manila meanwhile is a grouping of teachers who came together for the love of yoga, and who teach a variety of styles, but with emphasis on traditional Ashtanga yoga. I think this is the only grouping of teachers who banded together, and is continually reaching out with a desire to share the true essence of yoga. So Yoga Manila teachers can be found teaching in Chi Spa in Shangri-La Edsa, in Alabang village, in Good Chi Center at Perea street, and sometimes, offering free classes as far as UP Diliman.
Whichever style you choose or find yourself in, it is important to know that asana practice is just ONE part of yoga. Meaning, all these contortions, stretches and inversions come under body work. By working to bring about balance in the physical body, hopefully integration in the emotional and mental states can follow.
Let me introduce you to the yogic sage Patanjali, the father of yoga who lived around the 5th century B.C in India (roughly around the same time as the Buddha) did. He collated a series of aphorisms or short teachings about the knowledge and practices of a yogi, consciousness and the human condition. More important, Patanjali also explained the relationship between the natural world and the innermost soul. What he offered was a science, a guide, a map on how to align the body to the soul, and to take control of the emotions and the mind so we can experience consciousness. His teachings were collated into what is now known as the Yoga Sutras. And his teachings weren’t only about body work. They included eight major foci: outside and inner observances or ethical disciplines; asanas or physical body work-postures; breath work, which teaches the control and manipulation of the breath in a variety of ways; withdrawal of the attachment to the bodily senses and the world; concentration; meditation and finally, the state of enlightenment is reached. So real Yoga is defined as the cessation of the fluctuations of our minds. When the mind is still, one is in yoga. The very end objective is to meditate and quiet down. Not to stand on one’s head (although this does have great physical benefits). But because not all of us can just sit in meditation without our minds constantly talking to us, or our ego constantly bombarding us with mental and emotional games, we need a discipline... and this is what yoga offers, beginning with our awareness and control of our body.
True yoga sees the body differently from western sports, which often pushes the body in competition for strength and speed, and is often about external display. True yoga is internal cultivation of emotional steadiness, mental serenity and the awareness of the spiritual. When the thought forms of the mind cease to bother us, cajole us, sneer at us, and instead quiet down and disappear, then we are doing Yoga.
Yet many people enter Yoga for the physical aspect — often because they want to be more flexible, or the doctor told them to do so to help some physical ailment such as back pains. This is fine. I often tell my new students that when they start Yoga, give it at least two months before they ditch it and say it isn’t for them. Some will discover the transformative aspect after doing it a couple of months, years perhaps. Others will keep coming back for the peace and relaxation they get from it. When these latter effects are experienced, then it is important to try to discover something deeper about the practice. You can even practice yoga at home on your own once you have learned the basics from a teacher.
But when Yoga is only seen as a sport, as a mere physical exercise, then you are missing the real purpose of Yoga. You may as well go back to the gym, run your marathons and sculpt your bodies. To say you practice Yoga is a commitment to a spiritual life, to a transformative working out of your small selfish ego, to an awareness of your spiritual presence here and now. Each time you step on the yoga mat is like it is always the first time. Each time is different, for each moment of your life you are different, constantly changing. Yoga classes are mere practice sessions on mats for the real way yoga should be practiced: lived and integrated in your daily life. After all, true yoga starts when the yoga class ends.
(I am teaching a four-part Beginner’s Grounding Yoga Workshop for those who have never tried yoga, for beginners and those who want to start a home practice. I have classes on March 7 and 21. Check out www.yogamanila.com for more info.)
