The Magic Of Yoga ...

 The Magic of Yoga.

At the commencement of term one this year, I had big plans to return to yoga to pursue the ancient spiritual science, incorporating mind, body and spirit. Corona then rudely got in the way.

'Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self' – The Bhagavad Gita.

Sounds deep and insightful and it is! It's an amazing process of stilling the natural upheaval of thoughts and restlessness of the body. Yoga is about going within.

When I initially began to pursue this practice many years ago, it was in a beautiful location close to the ocean. The atmosphere of the venue was serenely fitting, incorporating earth colors accentuated by dimmed lighting. Soft, but powerful repetitive music hummed in the background and the temperature of the room was just right.

Each week I would front up, ready to 'go within'. I executed the yoga postures role-modelled to the class as best I could. However, while I was balancing on one leg or pretzeling my body, my mind was busy planning my shopping list or guessing what time high tide was next morning, pondering over when would be a good time to turn the water pump on to fill the cattle troughs!

Nearing the end of the class, after I had productively planned the entire following day, it was time for Savasana (corpse pose), which is a restorative pose consisting of lying down on the floor and relaxing your muscles. While Savasana requires no physical effort, it can be one of the most difficult yoga poses to master.

'Students will find they either fall asleep, go into a dreamy state or otherwise find their mind thinking and planning for such mundane things as the grocery shopping, or worrying about work'.

I'd already mentally completed my shopping list, so I skipped that bit and fell straight to sleep, (and upon waking, hoped I hadn't embarrass myself by snoring).

This happened every single week, however I found it to be a wonderful (guilt-free) rest; one I immensely enjoyed. The most uncomfortable part of the whole yoga experience was having to peel myself off the floor at the end of each session to drag myself home, especially during the cold South Gippsland winters.

A few years on and after a fair break, I once again became a keen participant of a yoga class; a different one, with a different teacher, and a somewhat different me. I actually did go 'within', as opposed to planning my shopping list. I did feel a stillness as I focused on my poses and imagined how my body, as a whole, was working its magic to create the particular postures. I even found myself in a subtle meditative state during my practice and often experienced dizziness (in a good way), as I felt my body release pent up energies. By the time I walked (more like floated) out the door after a one and a half hour session, I typically felt I had just experienced a full-body massage, which was so nurturing and gratifying.

However,the most profound simple act, one which I had always taken for granted, was my breath! Conscious breathing, taught within the yoga framework is so powerful.

Before each yoga pose, and sometimes at the completion, we started with our hands in prayer position, resting on our sternum, and focussing on our heart (centre) area. Through the nose, we breathed a few deep breaths in and out ... and we were centred. In fact, 'we were centred immediately'. I found this astounding.

I now finally understand when, many times throughout my journey, I was encouraged to deep breathe during anxious times. It's our breath that transports us to the quiet place within (our centre), where time stands still and all is well. The ancient yogis taught that learning to control the breath can assist in regulating and calming the mind and that proper breathing enhances focus, concentration, relaxation, and energy.

So, each time, as we go about our daily lives and feel off balance, anxious, upset, confused, nervous or even craving an unwanted addiction we have let go of, we can instantly become centred and brought back into 'the now', where there is no turbulence, no upheaval. All we need do is take some deep breathes, especially if we close our eyes and focus on our heart centre, and we immediately find peace, bringing ourselves back to the starting line, before the overwhelm. It's that simple!

I plan to continue my enjoyable and inspiring yoga quest. It's a little challenging practising at home presently with two, cheeky, playful fluff balls darting around my heels, but it's worth it for the many benefits it grants me. I also remind myself to consciously breathe often as I go about my day, reducing mental noise of agitation, distractions and self-doubt.

As for the Savasana pose, I still to this day find myself falling into a beautiful, deep, short slumber during the end phase of my yoga sessions. This I imagine, may take some time to perfect, as I'm not sure I want to let my guilt-free nap go just yet!