Yoga – more than it looks

Western Yoga has been bastardised. I know how this sounds, as I am a Yoga teacher, and am guilty of teaching classes in the past which have been mostly about getting strong and lean. But thank Christ I saw the light. When looking on social media (#instayogis) you would think that to be a Yoga teacher you need big tits, a six pack and a spine made of rubber. It’s bullshit. Yoga is so much more than the physical poses. It’s a battle I face regularly as I try to have an online presence which is both authentic and interesting, quite honestly I wish I didn’t have to have an online presence at all, however I do want to make a living teaching this ancient art form so I sort of have to, for the moment.
Over the next few months I am going to very briefly, in my own words and from my own understanding, teach the essence of Yoga, in the form of the 8 limbs by Patanjali. This will not only give insight into how much more to Yoga there is, but also give me a reason to put my words up online with some solid meaning behind them, hence offering a ‘real’ online presence. I love to write. If I was millionaire I would isolate myself in a natural setting, with my husband and daughter, and read and write all day long.
To begin with we will go from the start….where else but NOW. The very first Yoga sutra is;
Yoga sutra 1.1; atha yoga anushasanam
Now begins the practice/ discipline of Yoga. This implies that you are ready now. All prior preparation, through life experiences, practices, study, has brought you to this very moment and you are ready to begin a training which will lead you to samadhi, liberation.
In modern day terms this means that you need to get off your ass, stop procrastinating, start doing what you are here to do. It may not be Yoga, but whatever it is you know it in your heart. This life is short, can be gone in an instant, and we only have the here and now so get on with things. If we delay there will be regrets, there will be words that will go unsaid and deeds left undone. Most human beings have extremely distracted minds, thoughts race and jump from one thing to the next without ever resting upon one topic for long enough to actually find some answers. The discipline of Yoga helps to create a one pointed mind, eventually giving us mastery over the thoughts. From here we may actually begin to realise where it is we want to be, what we want to say, how we want to live. But the key word here is discipline. It takes hard work. This means showing up day after day, to the mat, to the breath, to the practice. Are you ready to do this?
Next week we will begin to talk about the Yama’s – the first limb of Yoga.