Yoga is for everyone who wants it

Because it really is the most natural, intuitive return of the body and spirit to what it is meant to be and capable of.

Not all yoga, however, is for everyone. I personally prefer to learn from a teaching system that is premised on loving kindness and spirituality. Which means not commercialising yoga and charging high fees to teach, in my book. I get very upset when studios and teachers charge thousands and thousands of rupees and my my internal protestor keeps saying but yoga is meant for everyone!!

I also prefer yoga instructors to treat every individual as individuals with different abilities. I like it when the encourage you not NOT look at your neighbour and only concentrate on pushing yourself into deeper, meditative practice. I like it when they don’t insist you push your body into postures that your body clearly isn;t ready for today but has to work its way up to.

Most of all, I like yoga instructors who are calm and gentle.

I learnt the twelve basic asanas at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre in Delhi and I absolutely loved their style of teaching. It suits me, fits my ‘type’. We do shavasana after every asana, focus a lot on yogic breathing, and start with the headstand from the very beginning. (I’ve not managed an unassisted head stand as yet, but that’s okay.) I only did about two months at the Centre, before deciding to cultivate the discipline to do independent practice. I’ve managed sporadic bits, but I’ve not been completely out of practice, which is pretty good given my history with routine!

I guess what I was trying to arrive at when I started this post is that I don’t like what I hear of Bikram Yoga. Yes, it has helped a lot of people, yes it matches certain personality types. But the whole franchise thing stinks to me. It’s not supposed to be about rights and patenting and money! God is free for all, and that is what Yoga is supposed to be a means of attaining. It IS about spirituality, not about weight loss, toxins. Although loss of excessive weight toxins is required for spiritual practice.

Also, not too many friends of mine practice yoga, but from what I’ve heard of the few that do, not all yoga instruction systems approach yoga holistically, or atleast, as holistically as Sivananda Yoga seems to. Sivananda Yoga rocks!\m/ 😀