Why Yoga?

The practice of yoga means so many things. It is mostly known as a physical practice, asana. Yet is it so much more than just physical, we work with the breath, the deep layers of the body, the bones, the connective tissue, energy, mind and so much more.

Two of my favourite teachers, Esther Ekhart and Anat Geiger, have taught me the real meaning of the physical yoga asana practice which I can carry off my mat. Pay deep attention to yourself even in the most complex and challenging of poses. It is possible to do yoga and not feel a thing, you can do a whole hour of yoga and not even be in the same room as your body.

When we step onto the mat or into the yoga space, the different practices of yoga seek to bring you back to yourself and the world around you. There is yoga for your breath, Pranayama, yoga for mantra, Bhakti yoga, yoga that repeats the same postures, Bikram and Ashtanga. All these different styles and more seek to bring union to your body, mind and the world around you.

I describe an advanced practice of yoga as one that is deeply aware of itself. How does your hip feel in Warrior 2, or your shoulders in Eagle pose? How does your breath feel in savasana (relaxation)? The practice of union with your body starts with you paying attention to your body. How do you know what pain feels like or discomfort or if a pose is right for you? You feel it. Yoga teaches us to find our body's in space and listen to them. Read and learn to understand the signs and signals your body sends to you. This is when yoga goes beyond your mat and studio space.

I ask again Why yoga? Yoga can show us a deep inner essence within our bodies through our feeling senses. Some call it awareness, some call it light, the divine, deep stillness. Through the unification of breath, body and movement we influence the physical elements of our body as well as the more subtle and find a way to connect to the deeper less physically tangible self.

Yoga can take us beyond the daily concerns we might carry and show us a vast wide-open landscape within our bodies.

Yoga does not just change the way we see things, it transforms the person who sees.

Iyengar