Wellness begins on the Inside

Yoga Me Well Blog Archive

Sep
14
2010

Spring into Yoga: Find a Class

Early Spring, many full moons ago, I was shopping for a class in the yoga Mecca of Prahran. The teacher was Indian so I figured he must be good, coming from Yoga’s heartland. His fair-haired, honey-tanned acolyte wore a kind of loin cloth (probably just daggy shorts), according to my apocryphal memory. But I do recall being rigid with panic as the whimpering girl beyond my buckled body’s sight asked the teacher to release her from a posture, and he refused.

I’ve done hard-bodied yoga with a humourless teacher and gently coo-ing classes with a sweet despairing one, flowing postures with an Earth Mother and cocooned myself in the comforting routine and community of one tradition. If you’ve lapsed over winter and are keen to get your mat rolling with a new class this Spring, here are some shopping tips…

Tradition vs fusion

Let’s divide yoga styles roughly into tradition-based and fusion styles.

Yoga traditions have a spiritual guru or master teacher who develops a style and adheres to a philosophy which is passed down through a lineage. They usually have a hub that nurtures the student/teacher community, providing a like-minded social network and workshops on say, “yoga for back pain” or “stress”, for students as well as teacher graduates. They may even hold full moon meditations and solstice celebrations. Some long standing traditions in Melbourne include Gita International in Abbotsford, Krishnamacharya Healing Yoga Foundation (KHYF) in Middle Park and Yoga in Daily Life in Richmond. While the Iyengar and Ashtanga traditions have loads of teachers here, they have no central hub.

Having said that, many teachers with an entrepreneurial spirit and a rented space create active hives for students.

Fusion classes came about as teachers continued professional development beyond the tradition in which they qualified. Many explore the vast world of yoga styles here and overseas, slowly developing a personal “best of” compilation of teaching influences, styles and philosophies. Many fusion teachers simply advertise themselves as “hatha” yoga, while others have codified their new style and branded it, like Shadow yoga, Anusara and SomaChi.

Format, Pace & Props

Class formats vary hugely but most include some floor work and standing work and transition from one posture to the next (holding each for a minute or so). Breath work and relaxation are generally key elements.

Vinyasa classes meanwhile, offer flowing posture sequences performed in perfect harmony with the breath.

Some styles, like Iyengar, also use props (bolsters, blocks, straps and blankets) to ensure you get the best alignment for your body in each posture. It requires some mucking around between postures, but you might enjoy that micro-break, or find it unutterably tedious and prefer the simplicity of straight mat work.

Consider the pace of the class too. Some styles whip through 25 poses or more in 60 to 90 minutes, which makes working safely difficult for newcomers. It can take years to crack the best alignment for your body in popular classes where teachers are unable to offer sustained individual attention. You may find it more rewarding to consider a smaller class, or one that spends more time in fewer postures, until you build a stable foundation and confidence.

What do I need?

In her search for a terrific teacher, my friend Sal came across plenty with hot bods, outfits to match and the bendy cellular structures of ex-dancers. But, says Sal: “One of my fave teachers of all time was a woman in her 70s who wore spangly old leotards.” Ask yourself, do I want…:

A yoga coach or spiritual mentor?
A class that challenges me, or restores me because I’m a total stress head?
A few private classes to gain confidence and technique?
A studio that offers a variety of classes, ability levels and teachers?
Or a teacher who offers smaller groups and individual attention?
Is personal development and spiritual philosophy important?
A community of yoga buddies with whom to enjoy all things oogie-boogie (spiritual)?

Excuse me, but …?

Ask the teacher:

Are your classes dynamic, or more restorative?
How many postures do you do per class?
What’s the format? (eg: Breath work? Mostly standing postures? Any relaxation?)
Are classes level-specific, or of mixed abilities?
How is your yoga different to others I’ve tried?
Do you offer spiritual philosophy and what are some of your key concepts?
Do you offer individual attention?

What do people say they like about your teaching style?

Search a class

Try these websites for different styles of yoga in Melbourne

www.findyoga.com.au
www.yogateachers.asn.au.

Lisa Mitchell

Lisa Mitchell is a hatha yoga teacher, relaxation instructor and freelance writer/editor who specialises in holistic wellbeing.

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Apr
26
2010

The Pretzel in Me

With yoga on every street corner, you almost feel on the outer if your inner world isn’t being toned. Everyone seems bent on finding the Pretzel inside.

Most depictions of yoga from promo flyers to YouTubes offer the Human Paperclip as inspiration. But where does that leave the lawyer fossilised by 16-hour days or the chronically fatigued mum? How does the average, flex-free, joint-jarred, physically disproportionate student overcome that invocation, to grasp the subtler gifts of yoga?

Over a 15-year, once-or-twice-a-week journey as a student, the glitter in my path began to sparkle. That may sound like a slow-train to nowhere-in- particular, but little by little yoga’s revelatory influence dramatically altered my life perspective and path.

As the Philosophy of the Mat unrolled, I learned the sanctuary of that rectangular space and how to use it to sustain me.

Philosophy of the Mat

On the mat, at first, I struggled and forced, often leaving depleted and disillusioned. But with acceptance, patience and growing self responsibility, the mat became an expansive place where I could lose all sense of time and place, and the worries I’d heaped upon me.

Rules of the Mat 1+2: One. You need to explore several classes to find the right match of tradition and teacher, the one that opens your body and mind the way you imagined yoga might. Two. Ignore Flexy Pants who flops effortlessly into postures. Your body, and the emotional and mental layers that inform it, are unique. So too is your yoga journey. Immerse yourself in your own space… fully.

Acceptance: When your hamstrings refuse to fold perfectly in half from a standing position, welcome Acceptance. No amount of forcing your limbs into submission, or allowing the inner critic to judge, is going to progress you quickly, or safely. Accept your limitations on the mat and work gently to see whether they are blockages that may be freed with regular, self-nurturing attention.

Patience: You know it, something worth having takes time… From the Sanskrit “yug”, meaning “union”, “yoga” invites you to unite the mind, body and spirit (the inner self, the divine within and without). This profound union is accessible to the patient student, which is why yoga persists over millennia ― since 5000 BC and still counting. At first, the union lingers in moments. Ultimately, it can underpin your state-of-being, informing all you do. All you need is openness to self-exploration.

Self Awareness: Those crooked and recalcitrant parts of you provide a golden opportunity to grow in self awareness. The real management of my own journey of stress-induced chronic illness began by applying yogic philosophy to life off the mat. Embracing yoga doesn’t mean you won’t get sick but it equips you with a vast tool kit to navigate the ups and downs of life. Hm … how so?

Instructions to focus on a particular muscle, or to bring the breath to your big toe, offer the first steps toward self awareness. We spend 99% of life focussed externally on people and tasks. Your teacher asks you, repetitively, to move internally in order to become acutely aware of the messages your body, emotions and state-of-mind are pumping out. Once we learn to truly witness and act appropriately on those messages, we manage ourselves and pilot life’s journey more smoothly.

Self-Responsibility: Your teacher may be an expert guide, but the final arbiter on the mat is you. Can you be strong enough to take a breather, rather than force a posture or repetitions for pride’s sake? If you show up for a commando-style class undernourished and overtired, then awake leaden and strained the next day, who is responsible?

By all means, challenge your body to become lighter, looser and stronger, but consider that beyond physicality is a labyrinth of thoughts, attitudes, habits and emotions to tame, should we choose, through exploring our inner Pretzel.

Mat chat

Try a mantra to keep on track next class:
“What do I feel, where do I feel it?”
“My breath guides my limbs.”
“My body opens slowly, gently.”

Take-Away Yoga

Take one thing from your favourite class and practice it for a few weeks ― that’s a 5-minute daily yoga practice. (Ask your teacher if it’s ok to bring a pen/paper to write it down.) As a dear mentor, Lucille, always says: “If you can’t find five minutes for yourself, who’s running your life?!”.

Lisa Mitchell

Lisa Mitchell is a hatha yoga teacher, relaxation instructor and freelance writer/editor who specialises in holistic wellbeing.

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