I’ve practiced yoga for nearly 45 years and taught it off and on for 40. I know, I’ve dated myself again, but it’s just a way of letting you know I am no spring chicken, but most of the time, I feel like one, thanks to yoga.
I started yoga when I was in college in the ‘60s. Some friends had decided that I was a little strange in the head, so as a joke, they bought me a yoga book for my 21st birthday. In their opinion, that typified my strangeness. They were surprised at my eagerness to embrace this strange new world of yoga.
I tried to teach myself postures and breathing from the book, managed to hurt myself a couple of times and by the time I graduated, I was ready to find a real yoga teacher.
I’ll never forget Becky Love (her real name), who taught in a dimly lit little studio in Chicago. She was 65 at the time and her body looked like she was 40. Becky’s method was gentle and sustained stretching. I loved it!
Fast-forward a couple of years and a move to upstate New York where I was introduced to Kripalu yoga meditation in motion. It was a perfect match for this Type A journalist with 100 things on her to-do list.
Kripalu is slow and gentle and combines various types of breathing with sustained holds and releases that allow the energetic flow to guide you intuitively to the next movements. I learned the precise techniques for the formal yoga postures and then learned to allow my mind to let go and to allow my body to move into postures, formal or not, as it needed.
Yes, that was back in the days when yoga was pretty far form the mainstream. Now every YMCA, community college and senior center has yoga classes and I’m glad that society has begun to see how important yoga can be to the entire being, body, mind and spirit.
In the early days, I wasn’t concerned about blood pressure or thyroid function, back pain, depression or preventing heart disease, even though we know back then that yoga helped all of those things and more. I simply craved the quiet simplicity of my practice and the sense of well being it generated.
As I grew older (I haven’t aged, you see!), I recognize how much yoga has done for my body:
My blood pressure is perfectly normal at consistently at 117/72
My ability to breathe deeply and oxygenate my body remains undiminished
I am nearly as flexible as I was when I was 25 and can still place my palms flat on the floor, straight-legged
I have exceptional balance
My back is strong and I have no back pain
Although I have stress in my life (who doesn’t?), I am usually able to cope with it quickly through yogic breathing techniques.
I have never had any desire to follow some of the new and hip forms of yoga, which aren’t even yoga. A rapid repetition of postures calisthenics style in a 100-degree room is ridiculous and potentially dangerous. Holding a posture for long periods of time or being forced into one before your body is ready will almost inevitably lead to injury. Sadly, these new-fangled approaches to the ancient practice of yoga have given it a bad reputation for being dangerous.
I am proud to say that I have taught hundreds of people in all levels of yoga and I have never had anyone injured in class.
Modern technology is a wonderful thing. You can now find excellent and free online yoga classes appropriate for your level and age, taught by certified Kripalu teachers.
If you would like to learn yoga, I urge you to do a little research and find a slow, loving, gentle noncompetitive form of yoga that nurtures you, your body, mind and spirit. Ask your teacher if you can take a sample class to determine if this is a good fit for you. Your teacher should urge you to perform to your own personal maximum potential, but never push you to go farther or hold longer than your comfort level.
You should never have muscle soreness the day after a class. If you do, you have pushed yourself too far. The muscles need to be generally urged to let go, never forced. And when you leave class, you should always feel calm, centered and energized. If you don’t have a sense of well being, consider a different form of yoga or a different teacher whom you can trust and who will nurture you.
Your practice should be a joy. It is for me. I know I would certainly be less of a person without the influence yoga has had on my life.
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