Make
the time to take as many different styles of Yoga that call out to you. It is easy to get locked into one style and
think that is Yoga. Yoga is
indefinable. It, to me, is a martial
art, a discipline. It takes fortitude,
practice, experience and passion. There
are so many styles of ‘Yoga’ being invented every year here in America. You could go your whole life learning. What I think you will find, is one style will
be ‘Your Style’ for a while, maybe months, maybe years, then you will evolve
into something else. This way you are
climbing a ladder of Yoga.
I
don’t think it is beneficial to ‘Guru Hop’ where you take one class from this
person and that. I think it is good to
see if a style calls to you and then get absorbed in it as much as you
can. When it no longer satisfies see
what the next progression would be. My Guru has a saying; “Yoga is popular, what
is popular is NOT Yoga”. I see this in
all the trends and ‘new’ ways of doing Yoga.
While it is fantastic that Yoga is exploding in our culture where it is
much needed, one should ask, why they are doing Yoga. What is the perceived result desired from
this form or practice? Is standing on my
head on an unstable board in the ocean really going to benefit my journey? What is the reason you are on your Yoga
path? Why are you there?
If
the teacher, style, presentation of information, lifestyle, morals, ethics,
heck, even the music are not serving your higher good, why endure? As my first meditation teacher says in her
book ‘Meditations for Miracles’, “The only virtue in suffering is realizing
that you do not need to suffer”. I do
not relate to boot camp style training or the drill sergeant you must be in
pain to gain mentality. I do believe in
discipline but that is an entirely different lesson than being demeaned and in
pain. If you are taking a style of Yoga
or what is being called Yoga ask yourself how it is serving you and your greatest
good. That is the purpose of Yoga, the
design of this system of eight limbs is to serve the evolution of all
mankind. Inherent in the foundation
tracing back thousands of years is the idea of maximizing ones human experience
on all planes of existence. To reduce
suffering and separation and create unity and oneness is the definition of the
word Yoga, Yog, to Yoke or draw out your maximum potential. How can you create unity when you are in an
uncomfortable situation, in stress without knowing why you are there?
If
you are new to Yoga, experienced or just checking it out to see if you want to
do it, Why is the beginning. Each
posture should be for a purpose, a reason, physical, mental, energetic, psychic,
emotional, and awareness. Tell me what
your intention is? No really, what is it
you want from what you are doing? What
are you doing and what are you getting out of it? I ask this several times in class as a leader. Mostly I get blank stares. How can we know what we want if we don’t know
who we are or what we truly hope to get out of something? Have you ever felt blindly led into a
situation without knowing why you are there and then left with a feeling of being
lost? This does not just apply to Yoga,
we all do it all the time. Weather you
never pick up a Yoga mat or try a class, you can use these guide posts I have
created to determine exactly what it is you want and how to get it now. If you are considering Yoga or currently
practicing, this self exploration can create instant clarity for you on your
path.
What
is this Yoga thing everyone seems to be talking about? How do
you start, or if you are started, how to proceed? Just the word Yoga can be daunting, let alone
the pretext, deeper meanings, esoteric understandings and reasons for doing
it. If you are like me, you thought it
was something foreign, maybe a religion, or just a form of exercise. But if everyone else is doing it, there must
be something to it, right? It must be
something worth checking into. However,
there is one catch. You must know what
it is you want first before entering.
Your intention must be clear or you could be lost in the sea of modern
Yoga. Its confusing out there and you
can waste time and energy by not knowing how to start or where to go. This book will guide you through the maze
with the help of my students, teachers and personal experiences from a teachers
perspective but more importantly, help you determine what you want so your path
is clear through a specific formula. We
will set the guide posts for you, it will take action on your part, but we can
illuminate your torch so you can see down the path you decide to choose.
Yoga
has become quite a phenomenon in our modern culture today. Especially in the West, where we allways tend
to look for bigger and better it can be confusing. In the land of opportunity and designer
everything you can currently find a style of Yoga to meet your mood for the
day. A practitioner (person practicing
Yoga) can studio hop from one place to the next on a daily, weekly, monthly
basis sampling all the varieties of Yoga out there. Yoga in the park, stand up paddle board yoga,
trampoline yoga, Kundalini, Ashtanga, Hatha, Power, Hot, Yin, Restorative, the
list goes on and on. Studios pop up
every day on the Yoga scene from giant Yoga corporation studios to private
owned studios. One can take a Yoga
retreat to far off exotic locals like Bali or Argentina or even without leaving
the country in Sedona or Ojai to name a few places. There are Yoga trainings happening in garages
or huge schools and centers. One can
join an association such as Yoga Alliance or do it underground since the
industry is not regulated. Yogis come in
all shapes and sizes from ex hippies to hippie wannabes, from $300 designer
outfitted (not including cost of mat) fitness models to nearly naked hot bodies
sweating it out in sauna yoga studios.
Mc Yoga has sprung up everywhere and taken root in our culture. No longer a passing fad, it is here to stay
in one form or another. But what does it
all mean? Where does it come from? How do we know what path is right for us
without becoming stressed out by our distressing Yoga? Is it a religion? What is the right way to do a posture? What if I am not flexible? Do I have to meditate? Why do I feel so much better at the end? As a Yoga instructor of eleven years and a
meditation student of 19 years these are all questions I have asked and have
had my students present. My intention
for this book is to share some of the answers to all the ?’s that my students
and I have found. I hope to shed a light
on this machine called Yoga through my personal experience, my seeking of
answers and deeper meanings and those my students have shared with me. I also intend to share my insight of Yoga
principals and philosophies in a formula that I know works so you can find your
answers to the ?’s you may have.
Yoga
is a multi-Billion dollar a year industry.
Yes, that’s a Billion. How could
it all be helpful? So many students
come to me after feeling lost or being hurt and misguided. I have heard stories of students being
mishandled so brutally that they lay down their mats forever and never intend
to return. Through years of coaching and
hearing these stories I have devised a system that works in determining what it
is you may need to be receiving from not only Yoga but everything in life. Don’t worry, there are no worksheets, no
homework, no one handing out pass or fail, but you do have to be honest and
brave. Through this journey together you
will dispel myths and misperceptions, avoid potential danger and come out at the end of the path with
clarity and light around your life and the reason for what you are doing. You will no longer enter into situations
without knowing why you are there and what you are supposed to be getting. You just need to be willing to take the steps
forward, we have laid out where the traps are, trust yourself, you can do it
and will come out on the other side with a sense of union, all systems
functioning optimally.
–Troy
