Thursday, September 25, 2014

Yoga - What it is and what it ain't...

Welcome to the first in what I hope are many “useful” Wellness Transitions Blogs… My first will be on Yoga, and, of course, I want to write the one Blog that begins and ends all Yoga Blogs. But, I’d be full of baloney if I claimed I could do that, or, even tried to be “complete” in a single Blog (should I even capitalize Blog)?

Anyway, I hope you’re a voracious reader, because I usually use too many words to get an idea across.

Oh ya, Yoga. Soon, my classes will start at the Unitarian Church. If you want to know all about what, when and how much it costs, see HERE.

This year, B.K.S. Iyengar passed away. I know this because my Dad sent me an article he clipped from his magazine via snail mail (thanks Dad). Iyengar is credited with bringing Yoga to the West in the 1960’s… Well, certainly lots of people knew about Yoga in the West before that, but, Iyengar made it mainstream. Neither the U.S. fitness scene nor Yoga was ever the same (at least not what happened to Yoga in the good ol’ U.S. of A). Mostly, because we need to simplify everything we do, and fit it into our daily schedule, for, you know, about an hour. The trouble is, yup, I’m about to say what you expected: Yoga is not an “about-an-hour” kinda thing. It’s a whole philosophy and lifestyle.

What we think of Yoga in the U.S. – a stretching class – is so far from what its potential is, that, if you're going to use it solely as a stretching class – well, take Yoga anyway, because it will still benefit you and may lead to bigger and better things.

Yoga really has eight limbs…

The Outer Aids:

Yama- A foundation consisting of 5 right attitudes or passive ideas: non-violence, non-lying, non-sexual excess, non-steeling and non-attachment to worldly things.

Niyama- The second part of Yogic foundation which consists of 5 right actions: contentment, purity, self-study, self-discipline, and surrender to God.

Asana- The popular “postures” or exercises which many think are all of what Yoga is.

Pranayama- The breathing techniques which extend the life force and also include health of the system through nutrition, herbs, and control of the mind.

Pratyahara- The control of the senses and withdrawal from distractions.

The Inner Aids:

Dharana- The control of mind or “right attention”

Dhyana- Meditation, or sustained attention- the proper way to be aware, rather than a trance like state, which one “goes in and out of”.

Samadhi- The process of becoming one or unified with the observed, seeing how one is connected, and finally how one is the same.

You may have noticed that “Asana” is only one limb, and, well, I’ll be: it doesn’t say anything about a one-hour-only stretching class. In fact, stretching is exactly what we need to forget about, because, Yoga is the only exercise science that emphasizes the release and relaxation of muscle and tendon as well as contraction. Stretching uses contraction of other muscles to lengthen a muscle. That’s not what Yoga teaches.

Yup. I called it a science. There are specific chemical signals that come into play when tendons and muscles relax, and gaining conscious control over those signals so that you can truly relax is one of the key elements of yoga. A trained athlete that wants to do “power” yoga has probably made a mistake.  Yes, yoga can be “power yoga” as it was once used to train and strengthen warriors. However, the athlete’s sport may already give them all the power they are looking for. What most athletes need to learn is how to “release” in their sport. That’s why so many different athletic disciplines all turn to Yoga. In addition, its other aspects can help an athlete focus, but, it can help a supermarket cashier focus too, and, it can help anyone at any time in their life distribute energy more efficiently and effectively – not because of some hocus-pocus religious aspect to Yoga that some people think it has (well, it does, but more on that later), but, because it is a precise physical science.

That said, strengthening-Yoga can help athletes and laborers gain equalizing strength in muscle groups that support the main muscles of their activity or sport. You read that right: If your job strains your lower back: Do Yoga.

If you read through the eight limbs again above, you’ll notice that all but three (Yama, Niyama and Samadhi) have to do with regulation of our physiological response to things. The reason it contains aspects that seem more philosophical or religious, is that it comes from a culture that prizes the spiritual over all other things, as the ultimate pursuit – therefore, this is how to “be well” so that you can have a successful spiritual pursuit – but, it will benefit you even if that is not your goal. It is also non-dogma and non-religion specific, so, it can make you a happy healthy conservative Christian or Wiccan. It’s an equal opportunity practice.

The surrender to God part might be troublesome for some, but, it really just calls us to be in control of that which we can, and to leave all those non-controllables alone. You can control your breathing rate, but, you can’t control everyone’s behavior around you.

I’ll leave my first Blog now, since I can’t cover everything. It’s 917 words long! I hope it inspires you to learn more about your health, and Yoga in particular!

Namaste,

Robert

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