Monday, February 27, 2012

Wellington Yoga Classes 27/02/2012 04/03/2012

Wednesday @St Andrews Church Hall 29 Feb 12pm -ON- :-)
Saturday @Pure Balance 03 Mar 12pm -ON- :-)

It's getting alarmingly close so I'm going to mention the fact that I'm off to Bali (via Perth) from the 20th March and Back 4th April.

That means the Wednesday classes dated 21st; 28th and possibly the 4th will be impacted.  I will see if I can get a fill-in teacher but before I make a decision on that I'll chat with you guys in class and find out how you all feel about it.

I will be attending a Yoga retreat and then staying on to experience the Bali Spirit Festival.  To say I'm looking forward to this adventure would be an understatement!!!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Grand Yoga Champion of the Universe

In the early days of doing Yoga, I developed a serious passion for male flexibility.  Mainly this was because 1) I'm male 2) males are not normally associated with flexibility and 3) I saw genuine beauty and artistry in the ability to move ones body through extreme ranges of motion not normally accessible to the untrained body and mind.  I felt a strong identification with type of person.  I felt like this was who I was and who I wanted to be.

I never regarded this ability to be inherently Yogic.  I became a fan of several world class male contortionists and in no small way did their amazing achievements inspire me to work very hard in my own practice.  I respected the discipline and dedication that this form of art requires, perhaps in the same way some people might admire world class bodybuilders (while many others would regard them as odd, or even gross).  I often felt very out of place at the gym, and although I had a powerful vision that kept me focused, many people tried to reshape my reality, clearly under the impression I was wasting my time and should hit the weights and/or cardio equipment like everyone else.

There was a cross-over point where that changed.  Instead of being treated like I was an odd-ball, I started being treated with respect.  I guess results talk,  Some people were inclined to treat me as if I was some kind of "expert", but really, the only thing I was expert at was being dedicated and focused to my vision.  I'll concede I have learnt a lot by taking the journey, and that acquisition of knowledge continues.

There were people who continued to shape what they were seeing in me to fit with their belief system.  For example, that I was naturally flexible.  I want to put that argument to bed once and for all.  When I was a young teenager I did martial arts, and I developed quite good dynamic flexibility in my legs (for kicking).  But after giving up Martial Arts I did at least 15 years of nothing but running and cycling.  My body became incredibly tight and my honest answer to the generally very good flexibility I enjoy today is that it happened because I worked bloody hard for it.  I don't think it had much to do with being naturally flexible at all and I don't want to reduce the huge amount of work I put in by just saying it "came naturally to me".  I think it had a lot more to do with the countless hours I've invested in practice.  I'm perhaps reminded of how hard I worked for it (in the early days) because over the last year I have started to work very hard again, and the memories of my original commitment are coming back to me, There are days now where I just know I have to rest, not because I'm being lazy but because it is absolutely necessary in order to allow me to progress.

In addition to the above stream of effort, there was another thing happening, my practice of Yoga.  While Yoga asana was wonderfully compatible with my love of male contortionism, I came to see that intersection as nothing more than a symbiotic union of two different fields.  I did not realistically expect that people attending my Yoga classes would or should be motivated or even interested in the beauty and art of flexibility. I wanted to promote a healthy body and mind.  I always emphasise experience over results in my classes.  I do not believe even for a moment that one must become very flexible in order for Yoga to become a deep part of someone's life.  Even further, Yoga as a formal practice is there for those who need it or feel it can enhance their life (in whatever shape or form, physical or mental).  Some people were born doing Yoga and the fact they can't touch their toes does not exclude the possibility they are already Yoga Masters of compassion and love.  I could not teach such people very much, in fact they could probably teach me a lot more.

As normal, in providing this background I feel I'm now in a position to present an opinion on a current phenomena I'm seeing in the Yoga world that rubs me up the wrong way.  Global Yoga competitions have existed for some time now.  I have a lot of Yoga practitioners and teachers on my facebook account and they often post videos of "Yoga Champions" performing visually flawless examples of many classical Yoga poses.  The thing is, as a fan of male contortionism, I also have a number of male contortionists on my friendslist and it is a fact that these people can make the so called Yoga Champions look strictly amateur.  Any one of these contortionists could enter one of these competitions and mop the floor.   The real point here is that the contortionists are being honest about what is on show here:  Pure Art.  To be admired and respected for what they do, without the need to saddle it with a deceptive label.

What I don't get, and what I find quite bizarre, is how many people look at these Yogi's who demonstrate their fantastic physical achievements, and on the basis of that declare them Yoga Champions.  At the very least I'd prefer if they called them Asana Champions, because all we are seeing here is their ability to fold their bodies.

I don't desire to offer judgement as to why these Yoga practitioners choose to enter Yoga competitions, their reasons are their own and it is part of their journey.  In truth I don't think they are hurting anyone but I do think they are doing a potential disservice to the perception of what Yoga is.  I don't wish to see it reduced down to the pure achievement of advanced Yoga poses and I wonder how it is that someone who has achieved such an advanced physical practice still covets the desire to be crowned a Yoga Champion.  As Yoga continues to grow globally, it seems in real danger of becoming just another form of human deceit.

I think I will always love and practice male contortionism, but I will never call it Yoga.  This does not mean Yoga cannot exist in ones practice of this art form, it just means I'm not going to falsely identify it with being Yoga, as that is in my view quite an unyogic thing to do.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Wellington Yoga Classes 20/02/12 - 26/02/12

Wednesday @ St Andrews 12pm 21st Feb -ON- :-)
Saturday @ Purebalance 9am 24th Feb -ON- :-)

Last Saturday I ran a small session with Jordie and Kristina, where we did partner Yoga and even Bird Pose (the most basic acroyoga pose).  It was fun.  I will offer to host another session this Saturday as well as I have some more ideas of things we can do.

Shanti

Sunday, February 19, 2012

If you hurt yourself doing Yoga it's because you weren't doing Yoga..

One of the cool things about having your own (in this case Yoga themed) Blog is that you can write whatever feels topical and relevant to you at the time. A new friend of mine on fb, whom I've admired for many years as a contortionist, posted an interesting video link to my wall that reviewed a new Yoga book called "The Science of Yoga".  See the video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESMGLAbYiDs

In a somewhat related theme, the NZ Herald also posted an article about the dangers of Yoga
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health-wellbeing/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501238&objectid=10786455

This article was co-contributed to by Mande White and Kara-Leah Grant.  Mande is an old school Yoga teacher whom I did a class with a few years ago and the impression I got was that she was surprisingly competitive and goal-oriented for a Yoga teacher.  I will say she clearly has a strong understanding of Asana, both as a practitioner and as a teacher.  I know Kara-leah personally and love her particular brand of Yoga, Prana-flow has a soft edge to it, while at the same time offering deep physical emersion and a connection to rhythm and movement.

Anyway, It's all interesting stuff and it provokes a desire from me to put my own pov across.  Last year one of my long time students gave me a xmas card thanking me for 9 years of service.  Seriously?  I've been teaching for nearly 10 years and I have a student who has been loyal to me for all that time?!?  The fact is, I have kept my role as a teacher very low key, and it even surprised me to discover that I can almost legitimately declare that I am no longer a beginner.

But the thing is, I would have to say that as a teacher, I'm still just scratching the surface.  Teaching something as big and as vague as Yoga, even a master teacher must surely pick and choose his intended path and direction, the one that resonates most.  I may teach, but I have kept it a low key aspect of my life, and for several reasons:

I did not want to make it my job.  I already have a job, and Yoga is my passion.  I know some people might say, why not make your job your passion and your passion your job?!?  Well associating Yoga as a revenue gathering exercise concerned me greatly, I just did not want to risk killing the single biggest passion I had found in my life by making it my primary source of income.  This was a personal choice, and in hindsight it was absolutely the right choice for me.  It may not be the right choice for me going forward.  Things change, and that is as detailed an explanation as I wish to share at this point in time.

I did not want to be identified as a full blown "Yoga Teacher" when in all honesty I was (and still am) uncomfortable with the label.  There is just way too much idealism associated with it and ironically, the whole reason that Yoga was working so well for me was the freedom it gave me from expectation and dogma.  I often find it both insightful and dismaying to listen to other Yoga students and teachers talk about their personal expectations of their teachers.  It seems to be human nature that we need to find figure-heads and stick them on a pedestal.  The truth is, there are plenty of teachers who want to be put on the pedestal too, either because they actually believe their shit does not stink or because they enjoy the power and money such a position will garner them.

So I can tie this back to the video and news article because it all relates to the same thing.  Miss-identification.

I freaking love Asana!  For me, I don't just practice it as a Yogic tool.  I practice it as a means of artistic expression.  I feel like I'm somehow closer to being the real me when I practice Asana and it has nothing to do with fulfilling a Yogic goal.  I'm just being me, as I was meant to be.  Maybe the distinction does not really exist but it serves a useful purpose by making it.  Wake the hell up people!  With all this constant analysis of the pros and cons of asana you would have to conclude it is the only aspect of Yoga the general public (and many of it's practitioners and even teachers) thinks matters.  Holy shit it was only supposed to be one branch of the system, and it's just a tool, not a goal, just a tool!!  You use it, you do not worship it, you do not covet it, at least certainly not in the context of a yogic practice.  I've said this many times over the years:  The pose is there to serve you, you are not there to serve the pose.  I often tell my students this, as I always urge them to listen to their own bodies when doing their practice, and let that arbitrate how far to go, or even whether they should do a certain pose at all.

So yeah, maybe you can hurt yourself doing Yoga, and frankly it's not as scientific or in many cases as safe as something like Pilates.  but in the 10 years I've been teaching I have not had a single report of someone injuring themselves in my classes.  Not a single one.  Believe it or not, if, as a teacher, you empower your students to be attentive to their own bodies and avoid silly yoga poses that have inherent risk associated with them (and there are a few of them) then asana, while not 100% risk free, is vastly safer than most other physical pursuits available today.  The problem is, a lot of schools are pushing the Asana practice as a measurable means of charting your progress as a Yogi, and that's just wrong, and it's why people are getting injured.  It's becoming a sport, a competition.  If you asked me which style of Yoga is best, I'd tell you it is the style that already lives inside you, just waiting to be found and unlocked.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Wellington Yoga Classes 13/02/12 - 19/02/12

Wednesday St Andrews Church Hall 12:00pm 15th Feb 2012 -ON-
Saturday Purebalance Studio 9:00am 18th Feb 2012 -ON-

Om Shanti Om

Monday, February 6, 2012

Wellington Yoga Classes 06/02/12 - 12/02/12

Wednesday 8th Feb 2012 -ON-
Saturday 11th Feb 2012 -ON-

Hooray, both classes on this week.  On a positive personal note I am very much enjoying my own practice at the moment and have what feels like a balanced and progressive routine going on.  I hope this will reflect also in my teaching.

Also want to quickly mention I have been re-approached about hosting an Acro/Partner Yoga session at the Purebalance Studio and although a lot of time has passed since I did the course I'm still keen to organise a play, so will try to get something definite in place soon.  Just bear in mind I will not really be acting as a teacher in this role, but just as a facilitator and it will be a group effort exploration!

Shanti
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