Beechworth Yoga

I have just finished reading a great article published in a yoga magazine by a yoga teacher who sounds very much like me.  I am an older teacher who has been practising yoga for over 17 years and teaching yoga for at least 7 of these in the small country town where I live.  Like my fellow yoga teacher I do not travel the world giving demonstrations, write books on yoga or manage a couple of yoga studios.

My role is simply to share what I have learned about yoga with as many willing people as possible.  To help others learn to accept their bodies with all their imperfections and to nurture their physical, mental and emotional selves.  I run classes in a community facility and many of my students are my friends who I would and do happily sit down to enjoy a chat and chai with.

The gist of the article I read was that as yoga becomes more popular and we hear about all the different styles and add ons to yoga we can become confused as to the true purpose of yoga…yoga is not just for young,  fit , skinny, active, injury free,  health aware, new age people.   It is for everybody!  Sometimes it can be overwhelming when you are bombarded with images of lithe young women and men doing incredibly challenging physical poses.

The very meaning of yoga has nothing to do with your age, shape and size.    Yoga according to Patanjali  ‘ is the blocking (nirodha) of mental modifications (chitta vritti) so that the seer (drashta) re-identifies with the (higher) Self.   To me this is when you learn through conscious action about the fluctuations of mind…you practise awareness in all that you do and eventually you begin to realise that you are not your mind or your body….you begin to re identify with your higher self.

Of course this emerging awareness often begins with asana, pranayama and meditation practices.  However you do not have to be able to hold the perfect  Eka Pada Pranamasana (one legged prayer pose) or  perfect Trikonasa to be practising yoga.  Many of the postures or asanas can be performed using modifications to suit you specifically.  You do not need to wear the latest yoga clothes nor hold postures for as long as others in the class.  The fact is ..it is your yoga and yours alone….your experience will be very different to everyone else based on your beautiful individual self.  There is no need for mirrors in my classes, mirrors encourage us to look outward and yoga is about looking inward.  You do not need to watch the teacher ( I only demonstrate if my students appear to be having difficulty with my instructions)  …..you just need to listen to the instructions, feel into your body and be open to possibility.

My students range in age from their 30’s to 80’s.  I run classes specifically for those with back issues and a class just for the “blokes” in my town.  I run a weekly session at our local aged care facility where everyone practises chair yoga.  My oldest student in this group is over 90!

In my regular classes my eldest student is 82. She lives at home,  rides her bike twice a week, does water aerobics and comes to her weekly yoga class. When I asked her why she was coming to yoga and what she gets out of it her reply was simple.

“I did practise yoga many years ago and found it very relaxing but life gets so busy with its comings and goings.  I have had a lot of stress in my life over the years raising my family of 5, supporting my husband on the farm and working as a nurse.  But I like to keep busy and even when I retired I did voluntary work for many years. Now I am doing something for myself.  I find that yoga keeps me supple and helps me tune into my body more.  I really enjoy the calming environment and the quiet introspective aspect of breathing practices.  I enjoy the practice of yoga nidra and I sleep well at the moment.

I think you have to have a certain openness to practise yoga and I enjoy meeting like minded people.  I enjoy having a coffee or tea together after class and I feel good after yoga. Some of the things I find challenging are the balancing practices and some of the stronger poses.”  When I asked her what advice she would give to other older people contemplating yoga she said”  persevere a little if you are stiff…..you have to want to become more supple and take it slowly”

So if you are older, have back issues, dodgy knees or are overweight do not let that hold you back from joining a yoga class.  Just find the right type of yoga for you and a skilled teacher who can help you with modifications as necessary and lead you carefully in yogic journey.

All life requires air to survive.  It is the essential force that creates our very existence and yet it goes unnoticed until we find we cannot breathe.   You know that feeling when the breath becomes faster and feels tighter and each inhalation seems not to satisfy the body’s needs.  You feel light-headed and weak and begin to wonder if you will ever feel better again.  Then somehow either through external intervention or your own ability to regain control of the breath things start to return to equilibrium and your breath settles back into its normal rhythm. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could stay tuned into our breath…to receive the messages from the body about its state by checking in with that incredible force??  Of course you can begin this process by practising yoga and exploring the different breathing techniques taught in yoga classes.

Being aware of the breath gives you the perfect opportunity to be present.  To truly experience that which we call life.

The practice of combining an awareness of breath with movement is what makes yoga quite different to exercises at the gym.  As you move through poses there is conscious inhalation and exhalation with the exhalation used to soften and relax the muscles…allowing lengthening and gentle stretching of the muscles.

By tuning into the breath you become more aware of the effect of the stretching and strengthening  practices on the body.  You are able to fine tune and explore the pose.  Each breath you take gives you a perfect snapshot of that moment.  For on  your mat there is no past, no future there is just the present.  The mind can jump about in its usual fashion but by allowing thought to come and go and focusing just on the breath …that is how yoga asana can become your meditation practice.  You become absorbed in the present moment. …not rushing to move to the next pose.

Patanjali tells us that asana is one of the early steps in the yogic journey because it requires discipline and a preparedness to explore the present. The only instruction that he offers us is “sthira sukham asanam”,  that the posture should be steady and comfortable.  You may come to your yoga class for many reasons but if you leave with a sense of peace ..a realisation that life is not all about doing …then that class has done its job and you will return because nothing beats that feeling of being “in the moment”..or as I like to think of it “with the breath”.

Let the breath become your friend, your teacher.  Be open ..be steady, be comfortable in your yoga practice and life.

What a wonderful opportunity to get  together with like minded people to celebrate last week’s full moon, the first stirrings of spring ( I know it still seems a bit away but the daffodils and wattle tell a different story!!) and the auspicious occasion of Guru Poornima.

Guru Poornima is a Sanskrit term which when translated means a celebration of the teacher or guru on the brightest full moon of the year.  Of course all the negative publicity recently of fallen gurus makes one naturally suspicious of such a celebration.  Even for myself, with scandal coming from the Royal Commission last year about Satyananda yoga.  I was deeply distressed to discover the pain and suffering of so many people and needed to reflect on my own relationship with Guru or teacher.

There is no doubt that the yoga I was taught through this tradition has been a wonderful transformative tool.  It has allowed me the opportunity to recover both physically, emotionally and mentally from serious illness.  In my darkest times the simplest act of focusing on my breath bought me comfort when nothing else would suffice.

These were the things I had learnt from my first teacher (or guru) although she did not claim to be a guru and I am forever grateful to her quiet insistence that I come to a yoga class.  It was one of the best decisions of my life!

Having discovered the benefits of yoga personally I sought to learn more and came into contact with many more wonderful teachers during my own teacher training and yes I even came into contact with those more often referred to as Guru’s.  But  as we have so painfully learned even gurus are subject to ego and can lose their way.

So what then have I learnt about guru and why celebrate Guru Poornima?  Who is the true guru? If we look to yoga itself for the answer, you discover that the true guru lies within…It is your own inner knowing of what is right for you.  If you practice mindfulness and live your life consciously you will hear the inner voice of the guru.  It is the voice that tells you what is the best type of work for you, how you should spend your time, who are the right people to be around etc…

Of course there is always opportunity for ego to take over…for us to think we have found the one or know what is the best course of action but in reality guru is about feeling …connecting to the inner feelings of what brings us peace and contentment.  Unfortunately in modern life we have become suspicious of our feelings; often dismissing them in favour of what we think will be best for us.  (who would leave their job? partner? based on a gut feeling?????)   These are huge changes in one’s life and we always want that certainty of knowing we are doing the right thing.  The reality is we can never really know if something is right for us.  If someone had of asked me 15 years ago was it the right choice to go that first yoga class I would not have really known.  I could only tell them how it felt.

So when we celebrate Guru Poornima what we are really celebrating and invoking is that inner guru or teacher.  We are consciously connecting to our own intuitive knowing which unlike putting our faith in some external guru to show us the way,  will never let us down.