Yogic Living - *MY BLOG*

What is the true purpose of Yoga? Yoga encompasses many holistic aspects, but Yoga's true purpose is to prevent suffering in this life. Yoga is a system, which enables a practitioner to be pro-active about his or her complete health.

Yoga instills complete empowerment within the practitioner. If we could end suffering, that would be better, but mankind seems to always find new paths for self-abuse.

Each style of Yoga will have a subtle difference from a similar style, but health is always the aim in all forms of Yoga. Superiority of method is an illusion, since all Yogic paths lead to better mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional health.

The need to sort, prioritize, and judge Yoga styles, and aspects of Yoga, is an example of our limited mental perceptions. The reality is we make these same mistakes when the mind is not disciplined and our comprehension is challenged to its limits.

It is possible to miss the entire purpose of Yoga, if the mind is not trained and tutored properly. How many students will discipline themselves without the guidance of a Yoga teacher? How many Yoga teachers see Asana as the "Holy Grail" of Yoga?

The "monkey mind" will not be disciplined without Pranayama (Yogic breathing techniques), meditation, and japa (repetition of mantra). A Yoga teacher, or student, can practice an untutored form of Yoga, but to practice without guidance is not a holistic approach.

A Yoga devotee cannot usually transcend beyond the superficial aspects of Yoga without guidance. For example: Look at the covers of most Yoga publications. If I want to sell more Yoga magazines, I have to put Yoga on display. There is a saying: "A picture is worth a thousand words," but one picture of an "advanced" Yoga asana, will intimidate some members of the public.

How many people, in the west, think that a Yoga teacher must be thin, young, extremely flexible, muscular, and physically gifted? Most of the non-practicing public believes this, and many Hatha Yoga students believe it. Worse yet, some Yoga teachers have a narrow-minded view of Yoga, as a strictly physical recreation, similar to gymnastics.

Recently, I was addressing an audience in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, about the benefits of Chair Yoga. One member of the audience raised her hand and asked, "What is the most important physical exercise in Yoga?" My answer was that if you are only looking at the physical aspect of Yoga, Pranayama is the most important exercise, but there is much more to Yoga than physical exercise.

Even though my answer went into great length about the aspects and benefits of Yoga, a gentleman later told me than he would have imagined the Headstand (Salamba Sirsasana) was the most important aspect of Yoga. My reply was, "Did you ever take a Yoga class?" He admitted that it was the fear of doing a headstand, which kept him away from trying a Yoga class.

Now, unless Yoga teachers explain the holistic health benefits of a steady Yoga practice to the public, decades will pass by and these myths will flourish.

Let me start with, I am by no means perfect compared to the famed Guru’s and Buddha’s but I am in MY own perfect moment. The way of breath and yoga practice have caused my body and mind to reject over indulgence. First off my list was fried and fatty foods. I still enjoy eating meat but the leanest I can find. I still enthusiastically eat foods containing sugar but instead of a WHOLE chocolate cake one slice will do. I became sick of that sick feeling from overly sweetened, salted, fried and fatty food. That sluggish, tired and frustrated of feeling bad, that crappy food gave me. It’s definitely an acquired discipline…because I’ve learned through Yoga to tune into my body I feel when there’s an imbalance from my diet and subconsciously choose not to replicate those choices. All I knew was I was beginning to trust was my gut. Have a plate of fruit as opposed to heavy whipped cream on some rum cake. It seemed miraculous…my body still felt good enough to stay out later, to have more time with my husband off the couch…I just felt better and had a new love myself.

It is a HUGE conscience choice that one must make, do you really feel you want change?, do you really need this change you’ve set yourself up for?, how will this change help you? Remember the key word, YOU, not anyone else…will I be more attractive to others is NOT the question…will I feel better about myself is how you should start.

If you are comfortable with your lifestyle & habits then DON’T try to change them. You will set yourself up for disappointment & indulge again, DON’T change for someone else to love you more, change for YOU or old habits will creep right up on you in a weak or hidden moment.

For ex. from midnight till noon I will not smoke & I will bike ride…You’ll sleep most of it away…but you’ll get an excellent taste of what your new life could be like…and when you ride you can go around the block, this is not a marathon…be gentle slipping into your new life as if it were handcrafted silk lace. You would treasure that lace, so treasure yourself more so. Support yourself…and keep it to yourself, you don’t need other opinions of what your trying out…try it out first and if you feel like talking about it then go ahead…but first you do it.

3 – Do it now, don’t postpone it…there will always be trips, pressures, parties etc…so do it now…

4 – Congratulations! Treat yourself…not with a cigarette because you will do that anyway…treat yourself with a letter from you saying how well you did & to keep up the good work trying harder each time! And if you have stamps mail it to yourself, if you don’t bury it in a drawer under a couple of regular shirts you wear and then pick it up and YES read it to yourself. Then decide did you feel better in your new fine lace or maybe the bike thing isn’t for you and you’d rather stroll around the neighborhood. In any case find out what YOU like…and do it with love for your self more than anything else. Don’t tell your body, I must do this, tell your body I will do this & please be gentle & forgiving of yourself.

So you've been practicing yoga for a while and you'd like to compliment your practice by doing it at home too. How to get started...First get a teacher whose class flow you really enjoy and ask her/him for some pointers help you deepen a personal practice at home (you may want to hire someone for a private session now and again to make sure you keep yourself challenged and mentally motivated).

Next, set up a place in your home. You don't have to have a home studio set up permanently...only a place in your house you enjoy with enough space for you and your mat! If this place isn't a permanent Yoga room, make sure you can keep it clutter free to keep from distractions. Then of course there are different levels of distraction...you have to decide this...some people go crazy with the hummmm from the fridge while others can tune out such things. You know your self and you know what you need to remain in the zone. Prepare your environment for 5 min prior by lighting incense or using essential oils to calm your soul. Even an open window moving the air would be most efficient. If you don't have a stereo handy use a boom box or you could even tune into your favorite CALM radio station. For me in Long Island, if I can't get a CD player most times 96.3, the classical station works very well.

So now your ready, you have the flow of postures, the fresh air, the music...now it's up to you to take that next step to actually doing it. Well lucky for you, you are your best motivator. Your lesson should include desirable poses easy to get into but challenging to perfect...so there's your motivation...the challenge to get off the couch and at LEAST treat your body to a wonderful 20 minutes of you time, serenity time and spiritual exploration time. Good luck! Feel free to contact me if I could be of any help...

I'm so excited to see that on Pg. 60 they have a blurb about Kids doing Yoga! "Saying OM isn't just for mommies anymore - it's a great way for you and your child to exercise together indoors. Get started with a book like I Love Yoga, by Mary Kaye Chryssicas, which has photos and simple descriptions of all the basic poses."

I think it's a great idea to get kids involved with you exercising. Especially because of kids flexibility they find it easier and fun! Also, you get to lead by example showing them that mommies & daddies like to exercise too and that meditiation or relaxation even for 5 minutes help create clarity and focus. Lots of Yoga schools & teachers offer yoga programs for kids. They generally range from 30-45 minutes and can be great fun for girls & boys. For the most part classes available for children over 6 yrs old are easier to find. Probably because kids under 6 yrs have a hard time sitting still to listen to instruction. Feel free to call your local Yoga studio or myself for references or suggestions.

I'm very excited and more than willing to hear your thoughts and comments about Yogic Living. More importantly I'm eager to share ideas and conversation on such topics as how to incorporate yoga into your "Real" life. It can be very hard to find time and of course to figure out which poses to do and how to do them properly. A key for that is most likely if it hurts something is wrong...and unfortunately that’s how most people start off when they are on their own. Feel free to ask any Yoga teacher to walk you through a set of postures for your personal practice. She or he would probably be happy to even give you a set of postures to work on a specific ailment such as lower back injuries etc. Prenatal and Postpartum Yoga instructors could also help you with some breathing techniques to ease labor and release the tensions of everyday motherhood. In fact if you have any questions hopefully I can answer them here to share with others who commonly have concerns with limited mobility who would also need modified postures and techniques. Keep in mind Yoga is for Everyone. It's just a matter of letting your body go as far as it can in postures without judgment on yourself. Everyone's body is different...and think about it...for X amount of years you either haven't had that deep stretch or have trained your body otherwise. A lot of times yoga is new for most of us, especially for back posture. Most of us have that computer hunch and that looking at the ground type of walk. So until you start trying to make a conscience effort with pulling your shoulders back and down, doing chest opening exercises and breath work, it can be hard and we can be hard on ourselves leading to giving up on the idea all together.

Work with your body and your body will work with you. It seems like such a simple thought but it is more than true. In time you'll see it for yourself in your regular practice. Keep in mind yoga can either be physical, mental or both. You don't have to "find enlightenment". But in case you pass it along the way you may want to look into it. For most it begins physically because we can feel it and see it. The Mental aspect is always harder to grasp as it’s not tangible and it’s hard for us to believe that if we breathe we can control all aspects in our life. Key Word...Our Life. We can't control others or what others will do for us, but we can control our self and our state of mind in reaction to others. Believe me it takes practice, myself included, but as they say practice makes perfect :) -'- namaste

"You don't need to let go of something. What you really need is understanding" - unknown?

The Purpose of Yoga: Holistic Health By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

The Purpose of Yoga: Holistic Health
By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500