When, many years ago, I complained to my cousin Larry about some back problems I’d been having, he said, “You should try yoga.” At the time, my brain went down a path familiar to many people with no yoga experience.
“Look, Larry,” I said, “I’m pushing 50. No way is this body bending like a paper clip, and I can’t stay awake through ‘Letterman,’ let alone meditate and hum long enough to reach nirvana. Besides, what kind of workout is sitting?”
I figured yoga was something spandex-clad women in Shape magazine did between photo shoots or mystics did surrounded by candles and incense to loosen up after sleeping on a bed of nails.
I was wrong. But first, a disclaimer: I’m no yoga authority. I’m not an instructor and have no DVD to peddle. I’m just a fan. Yoga is a vast, er, thing, part art, part science and part religion, from which I’ve figured out a small part, a part that has helped me so much I’ve stuck with it two or three times each week since my cousin first challenged my prejudices.
Yoga is 5,000 years old, comes in many forms, includes mental, physical and spiritual aspects, and can involve body poses, breathing exercises and meditation. Yoga purists may shudder to read this, but I take from yoga what helps me the most, the physical and relaxation benefits. As for oneness of body, mind and spirit, I leave that to the gurus and envy their successful journeys to a higher state of consciousness.
Here’s my pitch. If your muscles are stiff after climbing out of bed, if your stressful job leaves your neck and shoulders bunched or if you feel the passing years in your joints and find the trajectory of time unsettling, consider what I call Everyman’s Yoga. It works muscles that otherwise might atrophy, increases flexibility to prevent injury and scares away stress demons. You won’t look younger, but you might feel younger.
As for me, my first foray into yoga was by watching an instructor on a videotape. I learned the basic stretches and poses before growing so sick of my recorded teacher and his love for the camera that I continued at a club. Before long, the drive time and membership fees steered me back home, to my own routine and favorite background music in an unoccupied room.
As for you, you’d simply need some beginner’s instruction, be willing to look past the stereotypes and find out what parts of yoga work for you.
The stereotypes suggest that yoga is an exclusive club with obscure and ritualistic rules of admission. One definition says yoga is “a Hindu discipline aimed at training the consciousness for a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquillity.” I’m in no position to disagree, but I find that definition daunting enough to scare away people who might benefit.
Develop your own definition through time. Until then, think of yoga as a great way to keep your body loose and strong and your mind relaxed.
Yoga has lasted so long because no one can own it and anyone can benefit from it. E-mail me if you’re interested in exploring, and I’ll send you a few noncommercial, informative Internet addresses.
