by Robert Byrnes
My Yoga Journey
By early 2005, I was performing so many massages one after the other that it began taking its toll on my physical well-being. I didn't fully realize just how inflexible my body was at the time, but I could feel the aches, and I knew that my posture was stooped-over and out of balance. I had developed many unhealthy physical patterns and routines. I couldn't fully appreciate it at the time, but, my body mechanics were inefficient and causing me to exert greater effort than should have been necessary.
I knew that yoga could help me regain my physical, mechanical health. So I found the perfect yoga studio, Yoga Pura, and in March of 2005, I began my yoga practice in earnest. The results for me were immediate. As my body regained flexibility and range of motion, I also became stronger at the core of my physical being. In an ironic twist, as the benefits of my yoga practice emerged, I found that I was actually able to perform more massages than before, and with less effort!
But the truly amazing thing about yoga is this wonderful secret that was revealed. There is a magic that emerges from inside the person who practices yoga. I became more grounded and integrated in my whole being: body, mind, spirit, and emotion. As the observer inside of me emerged with greater clarity, my mind became calmer and more relaxed. As the energy began to flow and move through me in the yoga postures, I became more aware of my body and my feelings. And best of all, my connection to my higher self, that inner wisdom and guidance, became stronger.
I highly recommend yoga to anyone who is considering it. Please realize that not all yoga classes, and not all yoga teachers are the same. It may be necessary to experience a number of different studios and/or teachers before you find one that resonates with you.
Currently, I practice Ashtanga yoga daily. This YouTube video sparked my Ashtanga aspirations. This practice has a set sequence of postures that flows uninterrupted, with a slow, steady breath, from one posture to the next. This flowing style is known as Vinyasa, and Ashtanga is the basis for all yoga classes that are called Vinyasa yoga, Power yoga, or Flow yoga.
Ashtanga yoga, however, isn't simply a sequence of postures done one after the other. The yoga is in the flow, and how we move into and out of each posture. The breath is our constant guide moment to moment. This poetry of movement and breath is a beautiful dance of energy flowing through the body. Ashtanga yoga is the most perfect asana practice because it is so complete. The sequence of the postures is brillantly and intellegently composed, with balance and counterposes. By the end of the practice, the body sings like a finely tuned instrument!
Ashtanga yoga comes to us from Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois as handed down from his teacher, Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya.
Ashtanga is founded upon the ancient esoteric teachings recorded in the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali in the first or second century AD. Patanjali explains that yoga has eight limbs. Asana, or the yoga postures, is just one of the limbs. The other seven limbs are Yama, Niyama, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. Asta means eight and anga means limbs; as Ashtanga yoga emphasizes all eight limbs of yoga as described in the Yoga Sutras.
My first Ashtanga teacher, now in Tucson at Yoga Flow, is Gabriel Azoulay. Ashtanga teachers local to the Phoenix metro area who teach at At One Yoga and independently are John Salisbury, Dave Oliver and Cheryl Hall.
Ashtanga yoga is a demanding and rigorous practice, but for those who can overcome it's obstacles, Ashtanga yoga offers strength, purpose, vitality, and radiant health.
