I can certainly empathise with Wyrd's plight. I have recently started going to a Vajrasati yoga class (as mentioned by eirdandfracar upthread, which was a pleasant surprise!) and for the first couple of weeks really struggled with the postures. I had done a very basic beginners course in Hatha yoga about a year ago, which had given me a feel for the practise, but hearing and observing and attempting the postures I felt very much like a clumsy inflexible oaf. I could perceive some benefit in the manoeuvres, as they made me sweat and brought about a mild meditative state, but to my frustrated mind it seemed a lot less “effective” (for what? I ask myself now…) than my regular practice of reiki and other energy work. This practise, while being intense and beneficial to my physical and psychological well being, nevertheless left me feeling like I needed something more visceral and in-the-body, to counteract my tendency to live primarily in my head/brain/conscious mind.
Yesterday however I feel I made a breakthrough and really caught the rays of the sun that had so far been hiding behind the clouds, tantalising glimpses occasionally peeking through. I came away from the session, as LVX23 puts it in the other yoga thread, “floating and tangibly high”. Yet I was also within myself and happy about it, finding joy and holiness within my very being, my BODY, that I so often ignore and abuse, rather than being transported to other realms. A lot of this came through the method of teaching of the class. I haven’t been to many yoga classes so I don’t know if this is commonplace or not, but as eirdandfracar mentions, the method of teaching incorporates meditative awareness into the basic “do this posture” instruction. This takes the form of a kind of stream of consciousness riffing around what ideally should be taking place, with the emphasis on awareness and (lack of) effort. Struggling to do a particularly difficult posture, my frustration grew, my muscles tensed, and I felt the whole idea to be hopeless for me. Then I actually listened to what the teacher was saying, his “If you try and understand this (intellectually) you won’t get it” riddles, concentrated on the breath, went “behind” (so it felt) my conscious mind to an altogether calmer place, and manoeuvred myself into an inflexible beginner’s version of the posture. And it felt amazing.
This method of learning I find refreshing and illuminating. It is a joy to bypass the rational conscious mind that society demands we use at all times and find a different place. To seemingly lose control but actually pass responsibility on to a much wiser source. I don’t mean the teacher here, but one’s body and deep mind, whatever you want to call it. I guess that is what I have learnt from yoga so far. I was wondering what part yoga plays in other ‘lithers lives. Is it a work-out, a physical and psychological panacea, or something even more profound? Right now I just know it makes me feel great, and that is enough for me for now. I’m particularly interested in how yoga fits in with other spiritual practises. I come from a healing background and it seems the perfect addition to my primarily physically static practise. What impact it will have on my spellcasting and ritual activities I am not sure.
I am also interested in Kundalini Yoga. I hear the word bandied around often, and at first it seemed a very attractive practise that fit in with my vaguely new-age practise- let us raise the energy in the spine! However the first Kundalini Yoga class I found in my area was Sahaja Yoga. It was free, and came accompanied by this site of a strangely dubious nature . A little research yielded an opponent site of disgruntled ex-members alleging Sahaja Yoga as a cult, with the requisite sex scandals and financial duplicity of such an organisation. It made very unsettling reading . The next one I looked at seemed a little more kosher, but of course was affiliated with Yogi Bashram the originator of “Kundalini Yoga”, and his organisation 3HO. While seemingly not as cult-like as what is alleged of Sahaja Yoga, the 3HO organisation also warranted its own website of disgruntled ex-members (which I can’t find right now), though it also is recognised by the UN, for what its worth. These cult allegations, the chanting of mantras that I don't REALLY know the meaning of, and the general wary vibe around raising the Kundalini serpent (if done wrong could result in serious illness etc.) have made me steer clear of this area for now. Does anyone here have any experience of this brand of yoga? |
