[NondualitySalon]Harsha: Foundations of Yoga

[Guest guest]

Harsha:

>David, perhaps you can share about your practice of Hatha Yoga. When did you

>seriously start? What yoga style attracts you? Any advice for people who are

>thinking of taking it up for the first time in their forties or fifties.

>Have you ever experienced any minor sprains or injuries from doing Yoga. At

>what age did you learn the headstand and do you find it useful?

>

>Thanks

>Harsha

 

Thanks for your questions, Harsha.

 

While I took Hatha Yoga lessons in college, I didn't start getting into it

seriously until a few years ago, in my late 40's. Inspired by a friend, I

started doing yoga on my own, from a book. I was motivated by the desire to

avoid growing more and more restricted physically as I got older. I

realized that years of jogging had made my leg muscles and tendons very

tight and prone to injury, and I wanted more flexibility and over-all

strength and well-being. Realizing that I needed instruction from a

teacher, I signed up for lessons at a local holistic health center.

 

This teacher had studied Kripalu yoga, and I made a couple of trips to the

Kripalu Institute in Massachusetts, last year.

 

Last summer I moved to New Haven and was invited out to the movies with a

group of people to see "Eyes Wide Shut". One of the people was Ginnie, the

teacher at the local Yoga Studio. We talked about yoga some and I decided

to sign up for her class.

 

So last fall I took her beginner class. In the winter she moved me to the

intermediate level. This month she moved me to advanced level. (So I must

be progressing well!) It turns out that Ginnie is a master teacher. Her

classes are more like workshops that last for 3 hours. She goes into great

depth in her ability to communicate the nuances of the various poses. Her

style is Iyengar Yoga.

 

Let me discuss the Yoga schools briefly.

Kripalu Yoga is flowing, and focused on the overall experience, as well as

awareness and the breath. It does not require a great deal of

finesse. Iyengar Yoga is concerned more with finesse: the fine points of

alignment. Instead of flowing through the whole experience, we might spend

a half hour working on one pose and getting deeper and deeper into it.

Another style that is getting more popular is Astanga Yoga. People are

attracted to this style because it is active and aerobic. You can work up a

sweat and lose weight doing this yoga! It moves fast and is physically more

challenging than the other two styles.

 

For people who are thinking of starting yoga in their forties and fifties,

my advice would be, "go for it". Every class I have been in has had a broad

age range, from teen-agers to senior citizens. Age is no predictor of

success. In fact, the older students usually possess more reserves of

patience and persistence that lead to a more rewarding yoga practice. Any

teacher will first talk to you about any physical limitations or problems

you might have, and will suggest alternatives if you find a particular pose

difficult. No one in any class is perfect. Everyone has limitations, even

the most advanced. Don't be worried that people will laugh or criticize

you, because everyone knows that we are all dealing in our own way with the

peculiarities of our own bodies.

 

My other piece of advice is that there is a world of difference in the

classes being offered. Classes that you might find in your local YMCA or

Health Club will have no comparison to those taught in an active Yoga

Center or Studio where the teachers have had years of training and have

devoted their lives to practice and teaching. Since starting at the Yoga

Studio in New Haven, I have learned that people drive in from all over the

state to take classes there, due to the quality of the teaching.

 

Have I ever had injuries? When I was first starting out, in my enthusiasm

and naivete, I hurt a muscle in my lower back which took a few weeks to

heal. Other than that, no, because I now respect my limits. I have heard of

other sprains and such, but nothing serious. After every class I usually

have little aches here and there but they go away after a day or two. Yoga

is safe if you respect your teacher's guidance and don't try to accomplish

too much at any one time.

 

The headstand is called "The King of the Poses" (the shoulderstand being

the Queen). It is marvelously stimulating and restorative. I learned how to

do the head stand in my intermediate class this winter. The teacher was

very helpful in terms of hints and suggestions, and it was also

motivational to be in a room full of people, most of whom were doing them.

I had to overcome some fear of falling, but I dealt with that by actually

letting myself fall and learning to roll out harmlessly. Headstands

stimulate the brain and the thymus and pituitary glands. If I have a

headache, the headstand usually takes care of it. If I am sleepy but want

to regain alertness, the headstand also takes care of it. And it is

invaluable before meditation because it seems to raise the subtle energy

levels very quickly and puts me in the "zone" from which meditation takes

off very easily.

 

One more thing: most teachers that I have had don't emphasize the spiritual

aspects of yoga but there are many books available that go into that in

great depth. But during class part of my discipline is to maintain

awareness, as I wrote about in my previous post, to attempt to stay

centered, balanced, in the Now, in the NonDual moment. As I do so and as

the class goes on, awareness descends more or more from the Thinker into

the Body. After class I often don't retain clear memories of we did because

the experience was received on other levels, just like deep meditation

experiences. And during the final resting pose, Shiva Asana, I had had some

supreme samadhi-like meditative experiences.

 

If you have read this far, thanks for listening!

Namaste,

David