Where there's smoke, there's fire. And where there are millions of people whose lives have been transformed, or at the very least, improved by the practice of yoga, then you know that something good is going on.
Like many people, I went to yoga in search of something quite simple at the onset, a better body and relief from stress. What I found was much, much more than just a workout.
When I started practicing, trying different styles of yoga, in 2001, I was 20 lbs heavier, had bad dysmenorrhea, suffered regularly from migraines and was on my second round of prescribed anti depressants.
Since then, I have gained a better, stronger body, barely notice my period, get migraines very rarely, and most importantly, have kicked the depression altogether. When I was diagnosed with adult onset asthma a couple of years ago, I turned to more specific poses to open my lungs instead of relying on steroids.
I'm certainly not Superwoman; I do get my aches and pains, low days and stressed out moments, despite having found Iyengar yoga and practicing it diligently.
But along with the better health, I've found an outlet for my energy, something I really believe in, greater self acceptance, and a passion that began by stretching my hamstrings, but eventually stretched open my mind and heart in ways that I never thought possible.
Throw in some kindred spirits who have provided great friendship on this quest, the privilege to share what I've learned with others just starting on their own adventures, and the chance to study at the feet of one of yoga's greatest living teachers, and it has indeed been a remarkable journey.
My experience isn't extraordinary, however. Many people have found solutions in yoga for everything from back pains and sciatica to anxiety and low self esteem, and they've all found it on the same path.
Few practitioners I know talk about yoga as just a physical preoccupation. I believe yoga pushes the critical mind body connection more than many 'workouts.'
The mind resides in the body, after all, and the asana or postures simply cannot be done automatically or with only partial attention. Your mind has to be there completely in your practice.
At the beginning of classes, I like to tell our students to breathe in the 'now,' and to leave everything before the class and after the class outside the room. One of yoga's greatest gifts is, indeed, teaching us to stay in and be fully aware of the present moment, which is all we really have for sure.
Benefits
There's a caveat here. Bad instruction and irresponsible teachers could lead you to injury, as a 2007 Time magazine article pointed out, based on what was happening in the United States because of 'express' teacher training and certification systems.
With due diligence, an open mind and a good teacher, however, here's a list of benefits you can derive from yoga practice.
Increased flexibility, It is no exaggeration to say that the yoga asana can work every single part of your body, and, as many new students learn, even some muscles they didn't know existed!
By engaging muscles and joints that are hardly or rarely used-like the hamstring muscles at the backs of your legs, which spend days and weeks contracted because of sitting at a computer or driving in traffic your range of movement is increased dramatically. It's as simple and gratifying as finally being able to touch your toes.
Greater strength and endurance, And I don't mean the strength that means bulky muscles and grabbing 300 lbs until your veins pop out. If you think yoga is mainly about sitting down and humming, then you haven't seen Ashtanga yogis flying through an intense Suryanamaskar or Sun Salutation, or advanced students throwing themselves up into handstands and headstands with great energy and great tranquility at the same time.
It's about being able to lift your own body weight; imaging the strength you are developing when you balance on your two arms, upside down. And because yoga develops muscles close to the bone instead of away from it, you actually create solid support for your skeletal system.
Detoxification Devotees of Bikram yoga will swear by the bad stuff that drips out of their bodies during their heated classes. Simply put, you sweat, your blood circulates better, and even internal organs get massaged and stimulated by inversions, twists and intense stretches.
Some poses are certain to relieve you of gas pain or constipation, or even provide catharsis and release for pent up emotions, trust me, I've bawled my head off in class quite a few times when I began doing Iyengar yoga in earnest.
Patience and humility, It's really not as simple as finally getting to stand on your head. The question is, are you doing it right and do you feel good doing it?
Because we all have different bodies, there are asana which are friends to some of us and anathema to others. In our own group, I can stretch open my hips in poses that are excruciating to others, while they can twist and bind themselves in ways that can make me cry because of my stiff waist. But these twists are my great teachers, because they make me work hard and remind me of my limitations, easy to forget when you let your ego get the better of you.
Then again, an asana is never something you cross out of your to do list. A pose is a beautiful, organic thing, created by wise sages and teachers for different purposes, and you never completely 'know' it; you may be stable as a rock today, and terribly wobbly when you stand on one leg tomorrow.
You learn to work hard, persevere, and forgive yourself and let it go if the moment's perfection eludes you today.
Finally, peace, Hard to quantify, but easy to see. People are always talking about the glow in people's faces after a good class.
I like to think it comes from working the body but easing the brain; imagine the vacation your troubled mind gets from letting go of worries and problems, and focusing only on the straightforward reality of your big toe or your spine, even for just a couple of hours.
The phrase 'meditation in motion' came from yoga, and even now you can stay for minutes in an asana that stretches your muscles and joints like mad-but which can remarkably quiet your mind even as your body is tingling with awareness.
There are specific poses for the most specialized problems forward bends to release the nerves in your sacrum that cause sciatic pain, hanging inversions that lengthen the spine and help relieve scoliosis, and supine poses that create space in the pelvis and relieve menstrual cramps.
All of them, however, are there to 'relieve' you on the inside, as well. And if yoga does, indeed, mean 'union,' as it does in Sanskrit, then this harmony between your mind and body can only make you a better person.
By Alya Honasan
THE LATEST YOGA POTENTIAL NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
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