yoga, what's it all about?

[northern_mantis]

I have recently for the first time taken an interest in yoga having got a bit tired of the same old qigong. If anybody could provide any insights in to what it's all about I would be grateful.

Based on the next to nothing I know about yoga it appears that it may be a more interesting replacement to the usual warm up and stretch routine. The health and spiritual goals appear similar to qigong but it looks like it may put some much needed fun back in to my practise. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks

Mantis

[Waterway]

Been doing Yoga for just under a year, so I am not an expert. That said, I have been doing Qi Gong (Ba Duan Jin, Shaolin version) for roughly the same time, so I have a little experience with both.

A yoga teacher told me that on a physical level, one of the main goals of yoga is to increase movement in and open up the spine. Certainly a lot of yoga asana (postures) open really seem to work on the spine.

From a mental point of view, yoga can be sooooo relaxing. I remember my old Ashtanga Yoga class would start at 2000 hrs, then end at 2130 hrs. I'd go home, have a snack, get cleaned up and be in bed for 2300 hrs. Never slept better in my life. On one occasion I lay in bed facing the ceiling, nodded off in about 2 minutes. I woke the next day in the exact same position!!!! I believe I hadn't stirred or moved the whole night.

Yoga for me is much more relaxing than Qi Gong. That being said, my Yoga practice normally lasts much longer than my Qi Gong practice, so that could be a factor.

To me Yoga has given me a whole ranger of physical and mental benefits. I do it everyday (thanks to the Lenten Challenge, see the LC thread for more info!) that I never really got from doing Qi Gong, and certainly didn't get from doing Taiji. As I discussed in the past though, I don't know how good my Taiji instruction was, so it isn't fair to read too much in to that.

You should check out a documentary called "Enlighten Up". Basically a documentary maker and yoga devotee gets a yoga noob to try yoga for 6 months. She believes the noob will be totally transformed by all of this. They travel to a lot of great yoga teachers in the USA and India along the way. Really good example of just what Yoga means to different people, and what people get out of it. Here is the trailer. You can buy it from Amazon.com on DVD I think:

Trailer

[kshurika]

northern_mantis (and waterway):

Welcome to yoga. It sounds as if you're having positive experiences. I've been doing yoga for about 38 years and teaching it for roughly 17. My advice? Go for alignment, balance, precision, softness, rhythm, smoothness. In short, go for everything you want in good IMA. I teach Iyengar yoga, but I like most of the other things that come directly from the Indian tradition. I am an outspoken critic of the crapola that has emerged from such spiritual centers as Brentwood, CA, Esalen, Woodstock and the Haight-Ashbury. There's no such thing as "Cat-Cow Pose" or "Negotiating Cowboy Pose" in yoga. Regrettably, with the huge upsurge in yoga's popularity, there is an enormous pool of undertrained teachers out there who were former dancers, gymnasts, step aerobics instructors, etc. who are more interested in showing you how cool they are, in getting a good DVD deal, in getting invited to the big-money yoga conferences and in getting you to worship them than they are in teaching you good yoga. So, definitely seek out the best and most experienced instructors that you possibly can.

Above all, don't read Yoga Journal.

I practice Xing Yi several hours a day. I do the Xing Yi nei gong. But, I always warm up with yoga. It gets me where I want to go quickly and it goes in deep. Sometimes, I don't get to the Xing Yi. I just keep practicing the yoga. At 57, I've yet to be hurt seriously (other than a blown meniscus from a crap yoga teacher's adjustment). Always take care of yourself. Never follow the crowd and NEVER try to keep up or mimic other people in a class. They probably don't know what they're doing, either.

And, don't be afraid to practice on your own. You won't hurt yourself. Practicing alone in a room is the real yoga. Classes are where you learn the moves (we hope). After that, just practice, practice, practice, practice...................................

[Haoran]

I'm very big on IF... THEN understanding in practice.. I can understand keeping the spine flexible and I have Qigong exercises for that. What would interest me more in Yoga is Breath and the functionality behind it. I too have been turned off by the new agey (and high priced) yoga studios.. I feel few, just as in Qigong, understand the depth and levels of attainment that can be had with this practice. Good teachers are few and far between...

[kshurika]

Haoran:

Get B.K.S. Iyengar's Light On Pranayama. It's not the best book written on yoga's most powerful techniques. It's the only one. Pranayama is infinitely more powerful than asana. But, you really have to find a competent teacher for it. Again, some of the twenty-somethings now teaching think they know what they're doing, but they can get you really messed up.

[Haoran]

Haoran:

Get B.K.S. Iyengar's Light On Pranayama. It's not the best book written on yoga's most powerful techniques. It's the only one. Pranayama is infinitely more powerful than asana. But, you really have to find a competent teacher for it. Again, some of the twenty-somethings now teaching think they know what they're doing, but they can get you really messed up.

Cool... Tks!!

[Doc Stier]

northern_mantis:

The following link may offer some additional information of interest about yogic breathing:

http://www.yoga-losangeles.com/Media/the_science_pranayama.pdf

[Darth Rock&Roll]

yoga - to yoke

In order to become aware of and regulate all the functions of the body and mind as a working unit.
To optimize their function and to understand their function and how to optimally maintain the physical body which in turn nurtures the spiritual body (energies).

Yoga, is to yoke.

[Brady]

Haoran:

Get B.K.S. Iyengar's Light On Pranayama. It's not the best book written on yoga's most powerful techniques. It's the only one. Pranayama is infinitely more powerful than asana. But, you really have to find a competent teacher for it. Again, some of the twenty-somethings now teaching think they know what they're doing, but they can get you really messed up.

Sounds very interesting, been looking for a book like this. Thanks kshurika

[Waterway]

Haoran:

Get B.K.S. Iyengar's Light On Pranayama. It's not the best book written on yoga's most powerful techniques. It's the only one. Pranayama is infinitely more powerful than asana. But, you really have to find a competent teacher for it. Again, some of the twenty-somethings now teaching think they know what they're doing, but they can get you really messed up.

Sounds very interesting, been looking for a book like this. Thanks kshurika

+1

[kshurika]

It's a tough read. You have to go very slowly. I tend to move my lips and adopt puzzled expressions.

[ChiBelly]

How does one distinguish traditional Yoga from pure New Age crapola? Can anyone come up with a good list for people who are new and don't have the eye for it?

[Sprint]

kshurika

I've got a book, (well picture book, but a good one I think) called The Key poses of Hatha Yoga by Ray Long MD. I don't know if you know it, but what I like about it is it's idiot proof - or at least it uses terms I can grasp easily. What I was wondering is if you could either recommend a book that's an intermediate step between this and the Iyengar Light on Pranayama. Also if it's not too much to ask a basic Hatha DVD to complement it?

[northern_mantis]

Excellent stuff, thanks everyone. My early experiences have been really positive.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

I personally would steer clear and away from any of the nonsense about traditional/non-traditional etc.

with yoga, you are either teaching bullshit that cannot be sourced, in which case, it is total bullshit because all yoga is open source.

there are NO secret family styles of yoga, there is no internal vs external debate.

the postures are either moving, balanced or seated and have been disseminated for centuries by myriad yogi.

Not everyone is evenly abled to do the postures and so, you have to keep trying in order to get better with some.
maybe your balance is off or you are too tight for some or what have you, but generally speaking, postures are drawn from a pool and arranged into a series so as to give benefit.

some teachers aren't that good. some teachers are great! NONE will do the work for you.

I've learned from new age hippy hop heads and hot headed fanatics who believe that yoga is the way to salvation.
they all had something to offer.

I reiterate, I would be wary of attaching any of the garbage luggage that comes with martial arts stuff to Yoga. It is entirely unrelated and has far less bullshit tagged into it than MA or even qigong these days.

with tcma and qigong, it is very difficult to avoid frauds and hucksters.

with yoga, it's easy to avoid them! most yoga people are happy and open. just start and enjoy!