As some of you might know, Yoga is an ancient thing, starting in India about 10 thousand years ago. It was first described in the ancient Sanskrit discourses of Patanjali as the yoke that binds we, as humans, to the eternal, the divine power.
And so this is very far removed from weight loss or standing on your head or bending over backwards to touch the floor. All of these things are one half of the Yoga yoke – the ox, if you like, the other is the power, the force, as it’s described in Yoga’s close relative, Tai Chi – the guiding spirit that gives the ox direction.
To really ‘do yoga’, we need both the human body and the human spirit to be present. In the modern world, spirituality has become, for some, a dirty word, associated with procrastination and so called ‘airy fairyness’, an irrational state that no-one ‘in their right mind’ should aspire to and that, more often than not, leads to wasting time and money, duped by false promises of redemption.
I hope, reader, that this isn’t your view of spirituality, per se, and if it is, please not to involve yoga in this disbelief. The rational argument for true yoga is plain. It has evolved from 10,000 years of testing and adoption and been diplomatically elected as one of the most popular activities of the human race, alongside football and porn.
Anyhow, whatever it is you believe in or not – there is no need to be spiritually enlightened to start yoga practice. I hope that if done thoughtfully and openly, the spiritual half of the practice will introduce itself, as it has for me and countless others.
The trick is to set the intention – that is enough, to intend to do yoga, and somehow, yoga will always find you, if you practice in a way that is comfortable and safe and, above all patient. Your yoga teacher should give you the mental and physical tools you need and create a feeling that powerfully welcomes you back to yourself and helps you bring your intention to life, with no sense that you are striving for perfection. The sense should be rooted in the pleasure of the present moment and not give chi to any other thought.
There are as many types of yoga as there are yogis, you will find your own, if you haven’t already, given time and patience. If you have a disease or disability, all the more reason to do yoga, don’t be put off by images of sunkissed models bending over backwards!
I have found that what suits me and suited me in my recovery form illness, is the Hatha and Scaravelli and Iyengar mix that I teach. You may find that you prefer another type/s, but whatever you do, don’t stop because one type or teacher has not worked for you, keep going, always. Explore practices such as chanting and meditation and mudras and nidra, all are forms of reunion of body to spirit which we all need to keep reuniting, in some way, every day.
RoseYoga 