What is Yoga?

Yoga here in the West has traditionally been known as a physical practice, and while that is a bit of a slender view of Yoga, it is a good place to start.

Hatha Yoga is the Yoga which I practice and teach, with the focus of my teaching being a combination of cultivation of physical health, using movement and breath to build warmth in the body, and awareness of the divinity within each and every one of us so that we can open ourselves to greater flexibility in all areas of our lives.

Yoga as a health practice has amazing benefits, just a few being smoother circulation of body fluids, increased mobility in our joints, greater breath capacity in our lungs, more positive body awareness, increased physical strength and the decrease of damaging stress hormones charging through our bodies. 

And yet, as we increase the flexibility in our physical body, other beautiful things spontaneously begin to happen.  We become more adept at finding the capacity to relax.  We can see the wonder of everything around us anew.  We find an inner strength and capacity to see ourselves to fruition.  We recognize absolute beauty within ourselves, and recognize how our birthright is being open and free enough to express that joy.  We are more able to see how our habits and conditioning keep us bound to old hurts and emotional pain, and as we understand more deeply what controls us, we are more able to release those hurts to live fully here and now.  How emotionally satisfying is life if one is constantly mucking around in emotional and physical pain?  Yoga cannot stop bad things from happening in your life; Yoga brings freedom from the need to dwell in the bad happenings in your life. 

Yoga moves us to a place of understanding and acceptance for all of life that swirls around us – good and bad.  Yoga gives us the vehicle – our body, heart, and breath – to truly witness cleaner health in our physical bodies, and, in turn, it cleans out our hearts and minds to reveal a more sparkling outlook on life.  It’s as if you were cleaning the windshield on your car, just using your Yoga practice as the wiper!  Everything looks so crisp and clear after you clean the car windshield – just as you look out on the day after your Yoga class!  Colors are more vibrant, smells are more fragrant, edges are sharper and more defined!

In a nutshell, Yoga gives you the means to create a place of being truly present in every moment.  Truly present in your body, your breath, your mind, and truly present in your life!

Yoga is a flower that has a never-ending blossom.  The new petals continue to bloom in an ever deeper spiral as the outer ones fall away, the spiral never ending, just continuing to blossom more fully. 

This is how Yoga begins - with the very first petal.  Let yourself begin to really blossom!   Let it begin with your breath, your heart and your movement.