Looking Up

I began practicing yoga as a way to engage in exercise without the impact produced by other activities, such as step aerobics, kickboxing, and running. But what I have received from my practice has become and continues to be so much more.

Things are looking up since I truly committed myself to the practice of yoga. I have practiced in some way or other dating back over 12 years but going through the postures without mindfulness and healthy habits is a less than true yoga practice. It was only when I began to see yoga as more than a physical action and began putting the philosophy into play in my life that I think the benefits really began to show themselves. I feel calmer in traffic. I don't lose my cool so often. I am more tuned in to how I am feeling day to day. I know to listen to my body and avoid things that make me unhealthy. I feel stronger, more centered, more in control of the things I can control and less worried about the things I can't. I think I am kinder to people. I sleep better.

It's a constant process for me. I re-booted my practice two years ago when I took on a nearly daily habit of strapping on the ipod with the latest from www.yogadownload.com, hoofing it to the gym (before we moved to this house with the delightful yoga room!) rolling out the mat, and getting to it. Eventually it became easier to see yoga as part of a regular day and not just icing on the cake.

The off-the-mat stuff has been longer in developing. I remember feeling a connection to ancient Asian traditions as far back as ninth grade, when we studied Taoism and other Asian traditions in World Studies. I remember the appeal of a philosophy rooted in human behavior and our connection to a greater, less definable underlying entity. It seemed like the easiest way to feel integrated spiritually but able to relate to other religious traditions. Later on, while minoring in religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in the 90's, I began to notice that nearly all religious traditions have some unifying qualities in that they all have a meditative inquiry component and all strive for unity with a higher power or greater entity. I grew up agnostic, but wanted to believe in something bigger than myself, so this element was very appealing to me and gave a name to what I already felt inside.

So-called "new age" philosophy never appealed to me personally, though I understand its value to other people. Using crystals and hypnotherapy and past-life regression and those sorts of things were untested in general, but more importantly, for me, they lacked a unifying quality.

The practice of yoga, however, dates back prior to the time of Christ. The word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit yuj, which means yoke, or union. It refers to the union of the mind and body through the breath, but it also refers to union of the individual with the divine. So a physical practice that could lead to spiritual unity sounded pretty good to me.

So anyway, that's how I got into yoga. It's not that unusual and probably not that different from others' experiences. I haven't been to India (yet). I am not a vegetarian (today). I can't do headstand away from the wall (yet). But I am more focused than ever on my practice and also on teaching others to open themselves to the possibilities that yoga offers on and off the mat, and this blog is an extension of that.

I love reading what others have to say about their own experience of yoga, and I will share those insights here along with my own. I also will gather literature that is out there that inspires me in my own practice. Perhaps I will even throw in some suggested poses to help unlock difficult areas. I hope you get something from it all.

Namaste!