Yoga

Yoga
K

Ken Followell

Past President
I decided to try some Yoga and took my first class today which was one on one with an instructor I know and trust. The instructor is also a massage therapist, that is how I met him and someone I found to be very intuitive. In massage sessions he has mentioned that it seems like I have been very "beat up" by life and use alot of energy to keep myself protected.

I am hoping to use the practise of Yoga to help balance the energy I use to keep myself closed and learn to open up more. That seems to be in harmony with the teachings I am seeing in Yoga.

Anyway, today we worked through so basic poses and the breathing that goes along with it. One of the poses had such a feeling of profound sadness overwhelm me that I almost could not breath. It wasn't the strain of the pose, it was just a wash of emotion.

Do any of you practice Yoga and is this something that occurs along the way. I am still going to proceed with this, but does the stretching and physical opening of our posture open us to locked emotions as well?
 
Ken,
Your post gave me a smile! I got acquainted to yoga through one of my classmates in massage school. Back in the early part of the school year when I had more free time, I was trying to do yoga on a regular basis. However as school went, I didn't have enough time to do it. I just joined a fitness center tonight and one of the main reasons was so I could get back to Yoga (along with exercise).

To me yoga has helped me so much and I can tell that I have not done it or gone to class for many weeks now. My body misses it. It is very relaxing and does help balance my body energetically. It rests my mind and helps my breathing. All of these things together help me to understand, learn more about my body and function in my body or as we say in school, learn how to live in of our bodies. The great thing about yoga is that you don't have to know why a certain part of your body feels a certain way. You just know that it does and accept it and get what you need to change it. It is a very accepting and loving thing you can do for your body.

Consequently, I will be a licensed massage therapist within a few weeks and through the school I went to, I see the importance of balancing the energy within the body as well as helping the body know itself better.

I'm glad you are doing this and it will pay many dividends many times over. I can't wait until I can get started in a class again as I really miss it.

Don
 
I took my first yoga class on Saturday. I'll be returning. The body remembers what the mind can't, won't, or doesn't. I like MrDon's reply very much. After one class, I felt my lower back open up in a way I haven't before. I want to stick with it.
 
I have been continuing with the yoga at home this week and the intense emotion hasn't continued, but it is amazing to be quiet and focusing on the movement/position of my body. Focusing on my body is not something I have ever done really. yoga I am finding requires that and I think is good for me.
 
I have never had massage, I could not handle that. For anyone I know and love to touch me is to make my skin feel shaky and crawly underneath. I have not tried yoga, although I do lot of other exercise. I have done much stretching, to be prepared for other exercise, and to be honest, I do not like so much the way I feel. Right now, it seems that I must be doing something that causes hurt or harm at me in order to feel good of exercise. I need to overstress my body, it is strange how it all happens. I am glad that you find something that helps you, and I hope it continues to.
leosha
 
Great to hear your discussion, people. I first tried Yoga when I was still actively studying the martial arts. I was getting a lot out of stretching, even before yoga. Yoga has been a mixed experience for me, in a way that brings up some of my most vulnerable feelings. Sometimes I feel very threatened by the sense of vulnerability. Writing about it now, I'm realizing that I have interpreted it as yoga making me feel vulnerable. I'm seeing as I write this that my latent and repressed fears and experiences must be emerging.
For my own sense of safety, I have taken to mixing my routines, finishing with some martial art and tai chi exercises.
It took some time, but I have also learned more about the chakras and the principles articulated by Pantanjali, of personal responsibility and self-discipline. Either way, I find that the asanas help me to return to meditation as my mind seeks to avoid the focus and relaxation.
 
Very interesting thing to think about. I love yoga, and I've found a lot of physical release in the poses. I think the body carries the weight of the past, and that weight forces us to move in particular strained ways. It blocks the free movement of the blood and the energy in the body. Injured parts especially retain the patterns of injury. If you have a bad knee, for instance, and favor it for a long time, your gait changes and other problems come from the resulting imbalance.Yoga opens up the flow of energy, so those blocked areas can release the pent up pain.

I find if I do it very gently and really allow myself to release into the poses, I can feel each release as it happens, the back rounding and sinking bit by bit into openness. I think the philosophy behind this release of chi makes a lot of sense. It's no wonder there are moments of great sadness and relief at certain times in the practice. Lots gets held in, and the letting go can be astonishing.

Danny
 
It does seem that I am finding my body remembers much of the pain I so long denied from my conscious mind. The practice of Yoga, with its focus on resoring balance, is a thing that I am finding helpful. Even with that said, I am finding that there are days I can't stand the thought of opening myself and doing the Yoga poses will not happen. I have tried to force it, but that does not seem to work.

It is a fun exploration must of the time, something I cannot say for most things related to recovery. Hopefully this will continue to be a good thing for me both physically and spiritually.
 
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