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