Yoga, On and Off the Mat
Yoga On & Off the Mat
Yoga Snobbery
One morning a couple weeks ago I was greeted with the question “Are You a Yoga Snob?” in my inbox. Apparently, Yoga Journal wants to know about my relationship with yoga. This email, followed by recent conversations with friends and colleagues on the subject, followed by this week’s comments, got me thinking.
What is yoga snobbery, after all, and why all this fuss about it?
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Yoga On & Off the Mat
Missoula’s Newest Yoga Studio: Down DogJohn Squillante lays it all out on Down Dog’s website. First, what the newest yoga studio in Missoula is: gentle, welcoming and affordable. Second, what the studio is not: competitive, snobby and inaccessible.
And sure enough — once you get past the neighborhood that looks more like the set of the Truman Show than western Montana (the studio is behind Home Depot in the Hellgate Meadows development) — the space is simple and unpretentious. Pleasant music fills the airy, naturally-lit room, whose wide east-facing windows look over Missoula toward Hellgate Canyon and Mount Sentinel.
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Yoga On & Off the Mat
Interview with Yin Yoga Instructor Paul GrilleyPaul Grilley is a yoga instructor in Ashland, Oregon, and the author Yin Yoga, Outline of a Quiet Practice. In addition to his book, he’s produced three DVDs: “Chakra Theory and Meditation,” “Yin Yoga” and “Anatomy for Yoga.”
Grilley has practiced and studied yoga for more than 25 years and specializes in human anatomy — of both the physical form (muscles, bones, ligaments) as well as the energetic self (meridians, chi/prana). It is where these two systems of the body overlap, in the connective tissue, that is the focus of Yin Yoga, or what Grilley calls Taoist Yoga. (See last week’s article for a description of yin and yang.)
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Yoga On & Off the Mat
The Yin and Yang of Cats and Dogs“Luna!” I scream at the top of lungs, again. And again, and again until frustration fills and reddens my face. “Come, Luna,” I say once, twice and then yell about five more times until I see her stop, stare at me with her tail and head erect, then bolt in the opposite direction towards my sacred, dog-free zone: the garden.
Despite her naughtiness, Luna is very lovable. Half lab, half wire-haired pointer, her black coat is as soft and shiny as her eyes deep and brown. She explores the world with insatiable curiosity, and when she tilts her head and looks at you with such earnest expectation, she is down-right irresistible.
Let it be said, however, that I am a cat person, and currently the proud and protective mother of two.
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Yoga On & Off the Mat
Om, Shanti and Namaste: Sacred Sounds of Yoga, Part IILast week we considered Om (pronounced Aum and also referred to pranavah), a syllable that many spiritual traditions consider the primordial sound – the sound from which all sounds spring. Namaste is another sacred chant prevalent in yoga that carries similar significance and symbolism.
In very general terms, Namaste (or Namaskar depending on the dialect or region), translates to “The God (Spirit) in me greets the God (Spirit) in you.” In Sanskrit, “nama” means to bend or bow. “Te” means you. Together: I bow to you.
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Yoga On & Off the Mat
Om, Shanti and Namaste: Sacred Sounds of Yoga, Part IOm … We chant together, palms pressed in prayer position in front of our hearts. Om … The syllable extends from our lungs to vibrate and fill our bodies. The single, simple chant permeates the room. As sound fades to silence, we begin again. Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti … The room feels alive. The chant connects student with student, student with practice, student with teacher. Again the sound ebbs and we sit together in the vibration — in the silence that really isn’t silence at all. After a few moments we each gesture and say Namaste. [more]
Yoga On & Off the Mat
Yoga Travels With or Without Your MatLike an awkward extra limb constantly smacking into strangers and slipping out of the plastic bag invariably slung over my shoulder, I lug my yoga mat everywhere — even, especially, on vacation. Without it, I am sure, flexibility will be lost; my asana practice paused. But should it be? Yogis have been practicing on rock, sand and otherwise unpadded, un-sticky surfaces for millennia — why can’t I?
Am I too attached to my sticky mat?
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Yoga On & Off the Mat
Yoga and Running: Friends or Foes?Most of Missoula was still asleep. The morning light, just creeping over Mount Jumbo’s broad back, was soft as I ran through the shadows along the creek. I slowly twisted north, first on road, then trail, crisscrossing between Ponderosa pines and tall grass still wet and heavy with dew. Once my stride settled, my breath followed. My heartbeat steadied. My mind fell into the moment. I was awake, alive, and strong.
This is why I love to run. It is the feeling that my lungs and legs could carry me forever. It is the freedom, rhythm, and grace—just as if I were floating from one yoga posture to another…
Yep, there’s that comparison again: Yoga and running. What an unexpected but wonderful pair!
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Yoga On & Off the Mat
Do I Really Have to Touch My Toes?As I contort myself into intricate pose after pose, I can’t help but wonder: Why am I doing this? How is touching my toes to my nose furthering my spiritual path? In this week’s installment of Yoga, On & Off the Mat I ponder the possible conflict between traditional yoga’s unattachment to (if not disregard of) the physical body and a practice that seems focused on the physical form. This is the third and final “foundation” piece, after which I peer outside the typical yoga box into topics such as sleep, work and play. [more]
Yoga On & Off the Mat
Hatha Yoga: The Forceful TraditionWelcome back to Yoga On & Off the Mat. As I wrote last week, the first three articles of this column lay the foundation by asking what is yoga and what is Hatha Yoga, and what’s the point of all this toe touching anyway? OK, I admit it—they lean toward the dense side. But they sort of have to—the practice and tradition of yoga is vast, dynamic and diverse, and it is only fair that I give enough background before relating it to work, relationships, holistic health, sleep, food, and the many “on and off the mat” topics I plan on covering.
Click here to read the first article: What is Yoga?
Click below for the second, this week’s installment: Hatha Yoga: The Forceful Tradition. Up next: Do I Really Need to Touch My Toes?
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