Mind and body

I am feeling nice and chilled this afternoon because I’ve been to yoga. I love my class; it’s the point in my week when everything stops and I can spend an hour getting centred and calm. It’s also wonderful to spend this time with like-minded people; there is a sense of fellowship and trust that develops when you’re willing to lie quietly with eyes closed with a number of other people doing the same thing. Our class is hatha yoga, very slow and meditative, with the postures held for several breaths. Lovely and calm.

I first practiced yoga when I was at school in Malaysia. It seems odd now, but it didn’t at the time. One of the teachers taught us yoga and I thought it was a good alternative to softball or badminton, which were the other options (table tennis was an option but was completely dominated by frighteningly fast and competent boys, due to the Chinese influence in the country). I found I was flexible and enjoyed getting a good stretch. I am still flexible but not as much as I was at 15!

Since then I had practiced yoga on and off with the help of books and DVDs. Then a few years ago a friend persuaded me to come to the yoga class at our gym, and I felt as if I had come home. Now it’s one of the most important points of my week.

Then I realised that I wasn’t well. I am so thankful that I was already going to yoga when my condition deteriorated, and I was able to keep going. Sometimes it was the only exercise of any kind I did during the week – even going for a walk was too much. I would get to the class and just wish we could lie down for the whole hour, instead of a short period at the beginning and end! But I always felt better and less fatigued after the class. And it has really helped me as I have started to recover – yoga has been a big part of learning to get in touch with my body and understand what it does (and does not) need.

People often say to me “yoga’s too slow for me” or “it’s boring”. Well, I am a person who likes exercise to be fast and fun or as strenuous as possible. I like to work up a sweat and to lift the heaviest weights I can, do the most pressups etc etc. I can’t get on with slow stretching classes and I haven’t come to terms with pilates. But yoga is different. For me it is a kind of whole body meditation. I try to empty my mind during the relaxation time, focus on my breathing and getting the posture right for my body when we are moving. Some of the postures, especially the balances, are hard to hold and take all my concentration. It’s hard work. This means that, for me, it can never be boring. And when the class has finished, my mind feels less busy and calmer.

I definitely get more from my yoga classes when I am practising at home in between. I have to say that my home practice is intermittent at best, and I am now being kinder with myself about this. If I am having a time when I am hardly doing any yoga between classes, I try to think “that’s ok, a time will come when I practise every day again”, and relax about it.

What gets me to the class every week? It’s not that I need a stretch – I can do that myself any time if I want to and it’s certainly not the most important aspect of yoga for me. Yoga is a part of my spiritual practice and helps me in my long term quest to meditate more effectively. It’s a time when I can share that calmness and stillness with other people in an atmosphere of compassion. Who would want to miss that?

There are several different “types” of yoga and, within those, different classes and teachers. I would advise anyone to try various classes until they find one that resonates for them. I knew I was in the right class because it made sense to me in a way I didn’t have to explain.

Namaste.