Yoga, Practice, and Peace

Part I of III:  YOGA

I’VE RECENTLY DISCOVERED the joys of yoga podcasts.  What an awesome invention!  It’s like having my own personal instructor right here.  Don’t get me wrong; nothing beats a live yoga class.  The podcast guy can’t straighten me out, nudge me, suggest a modification, or take me to the next level of a particular asana.  My options for live classes here are limited.  I reminisce to the time I lived in Augusta, just two blocks away from the yoga studio.  I would pay the monthly fee for unlimited classes, and attend religiously… probably 6-8 times a week when the early morning sessions were up and running.  The experience of those classes propelled me forward in many aspects of my life:  enhancing my body awareness, mind awareness, comfort in silence, outlook on life, relationship to others & the world, and benefitting me in so many ways, I could likely write a book about it.  After returning to Augusta in 2008,  (with ashram yoga training & several random classes spread out over 2 &1/2 years) I eventually found another great regular class.  Not as conveniently located, but cheaper, deeper, and well worth the drive.  Those sessions lifted me to higher realms, carrying me beyond places and spaces I once thought to be out of reach.  The instructor was female, and it was lovely to have some strong feminine energy gently guiding, yet pushing and challenging me.  Now, living in Korea, I’ve found yet another yoga class.  Though it’s in Korean, I can easily follow.  Attending classes is so beneficial to one’s practice.  There’s a beautiful flow of energy in a room where people are sharing a practice.  Individuals may have their own goals, but we’re all essentially, and literally, moving in the same directions.  All side effects aside (though all the side effects I can come up with happen to be positive), we’re moving toward that UNION of mind and body, self and God.  We’re joining Atman (one’s soul or Spiritual Self) and Paratman (God, the divine, the Energy of the Universe).  For anyone curious, practicing, or well seasoned, I highly recommend finding a local class to attend if possible.  If classes are out of reach, podcasts may be the next best thing.  To the attendance of classes and my own personal practice, the addition of podcasts has me flying higher… on that Blissful Cloud #9.    


http://www.yogajournal.com/podcast/
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/yoga-to-people-60-min-power/id171909056