YOGA: WOULD YOU LIKE ONE YOKE OR TWO?
By Joe Somodi - Certified Yoga Instructor/Public Speaker
When you hear the word “yoga”, it is likely you have an impression of what it means. This imprint has been formed by what you have read, heard, witnessed or personally experienced. Yet, the whole process of imbedding a firm point of view is a step away from the practice of yoga. Labeling and firmly defining your idea of yoga puts a frame around the practice that doesn’t deserve one. Yoga has many other definitions but it is most often defined as union (or literally meaning “to yoke”). Yet limiting the meaning of yoga pulls that union apart. The mere fact that the practice of yoga, in all its many forms, has been in evolution for thousands of years, should reveal to you the vast reach and richness of this ancient modality.
Most people in the West begin the practice of yoga for physical strength or ease. This is a great entry point, since in order to explore deeper, you need stability in the body. The yoga practices found in popular studios vary in style. I’m sure you have heard of Bikram, Iynegar, Hot Vinyasa Flow, to name a few. Although this is only a tiny portion of the entire scope of yoga, it is good way to for you to connect with where you are in your body and mind. Like finding the right doctor to trust, you need to find the right class and teacher that appeals to your present physical needs. If you allow for your learning to evolve, you will grow and pass through many styles. This is an excellent sign that you are listening and expanding your wisdom.
From a physical perspective, I want to reveal the power of yoga through one posture, a seated forward fold. Although typically a practice would entail a sequence of many poses, the following example will help illustrate more about the meaning of yoga.
Do you want to be a cowboy?
Have you ever done a seated forward fold? Well, it is a yoga pose. The practice of yoga named it “intense western stretch”. Just the name alone is enough to get your attention. The word “intense” raises an eyebrow. And do you need to wear a cowboy hat while doing it? This seated posture with both legs outstretched begins with organizing the body.
Ideally we hope you can simultaneously extend your legs straight and elongate the spine. For many this is challenging, including me. So modify by bending your knees and sitting up on a neatly folded blanket. As you reach the arms up to the sky, you will feel the length of your spine increase. Listen to your breath and inhale awareness up the spine. As you exhale tip the torso forward. The hope is that you maintain the most length in the spine while you tip more deeply into the forward bend.
Once you are conscious of the basic foundation, you are able to move from the external to the internal. Like driving a car, you no longer have to think as hard about all the various functions that are required. By directing your attention inward, you are shaping the physical and mental aspects of your being. Maybe this is where the “intense” begins to emerge. Your GPS device in your car helps navigate you to your destination. In yoga, your breath becomes that powerful device. The breath is the navigator that will direct the awareness inside the body and alter your present state of mind. (You can actually “get high” on your own oxygen! Sounds like fun?) You may choose to breathe evenly, so the length of inhales matches your length of exhales, or you can make exhale twice as long as inhale. (The later of the two is a more advanced.) Either way, you are using a pattern of breathing to bring you towards internal awareness. Are you beginning to see the yoking?
And as you do all this conscious bending forward, you are slowly transforming. You are massaging the digestive, nervous, and endocrine systems, instigating a host of health benefits. This pose will calm your mind, helping to relieve stress, mild depression, fatigue, and anxiety. High blood pressure and insomnia can be reduced and headaches can be eliminated, all by moving the torso over the legs! Are you intrigued?
Are you looking for freedom?
But yoga wasn’t born only as a physical exercise, although it clearly has many health benefits that keep your body working effectively and efficiently. All the physical postures in a yoga practice are meant to be a pathway towards changing the qualities of your mind. The goal is to illuminate a quiet mind, free of thoughts, that compels you to view and experience your body, mind, and spirit from a new perspective. To go one layer deeper, the yoking of the mind and body brings you closer to your spirit. The end goal is to be free from suffering. A worthy path no doubt. So how does a forward fold, or any yoga practice for that matter, help you towards that goal?
The pose and the way the poses are sequenced (called Vinyasa or “to place in a special way”) is simply a catalyst for change. The practice is the tool that will bring you more information about yourself. As Google is to outside/external information, a yoga practice is to inside/internal information. In other words, all the movement and shapes of the body and use of the breath in a yoga practice provides direction for self discovery. The practice becomes the information super highway for you to learn more about who you are (I AM), and what your goals are in life (Dharma). Clearly my words here may not be life changing, but the practice is. I only found out through personal experience, as you will learn as well.
So what do you do now?
If you have never done yoga before, try many styles and teachers. Find the class that best fits your level of physical and mental awareness. If you are unsure, ask for help. Then stick with that style for awhile and notice how life is off the mat. How are you sleeping, digesting, dealing with daily stress, focusing? You will slowly feel minor shifts in your body and mind. This is yoga in action, the union and yoking. This is the power of accessing more of your God given potential and discovering lasting freedom.
Relative to how long the earth has been around (4.5 billion years!), your life span is short. This is not a pessimistic attitude. The reality is that you have just this life to begin to make new habits and explore yourself more deeply. The better you know who you are and where you are going, the happier you will be. You will then be contributing to this wonderful continuum on earth. Yoga is a powerful choice to help you along that journey. Use it as a tool for change and you will feel the abundance of your being come to the surface.
And finally…
Oh, and the Western part of “intense western stretch”? Well, I’ll only mention that the sun sets in the west. The rest is up to you to yoke together.
