December 14

•=n=•=n=•=n=•=n=•

December 14

Happy Birthday

B.K.S. Iyengar!

Let's do some yoga

before bed tonight.

•=n=•=n=•=n=•=n=•

I almost didn't add this activity to our list because I knew I'd have to blog about it. And, I didn't want to just throw out a couple photos of my kids doing yoga; I wanted to explain why it's so important to me. So, I almost wrote down one of the options from my fallback list, 'Pick some chips for your lunch today'. However the guilt of giving my kids honey bbq flavor twist fritos over yoga JUST because I didn't want to blog about it was too great:) I'm going to try to not indoctrinate you all in the awesomeness of Iyengar yoga and just write about my experience, but I doubt that's possible. So, here we go, the post that will either make you run to the nearest Iyengar studio and sign up for classes or turn you off of yoga completely:)

My kids don't know it, but I hope that 20 years from now they will be practicing yoga everyday. It's up there with having gainful employment, being surrounded by friends and family, knowing how to cook - you know, the important stuff. However, I haven't quite yet figured out how to get yoga to them. I want it to be part of their daily routine, like eating, sleeping, and brushing one's teeth. I recently convinced Flannery to sign up for a class. It's not that she hasn't wanted to, it's just that other things got in the way: time, money, kids, hockey, the limited schedule at our yoga studio, sleep. And now that she's done it she's completely hooked, but those above things still get in the way. The thing is, I know that the world would be a better place if everyone practiced yoga everyday. We'd all be happier, healthier, stronger, more productive, more peaceful, less tired, more patient, and kinder. There would be fewer wars, more compromises, and better allocation of resources if we all did yoga. But, as my yoga teacher says, "You can't make anyone do yoga. But, when they decide to try we're here for them".

And, even once you start a class, that's only the beginning. It's taken me 10 years to realize that I have to do yoga everyday (which I don't, but I also don't necessarily brush my teeth everyday either . . . ). At first, it was a form of exercise; a way for me to become stronger; a complement to rugby, hockey, biking, etc. I once had a teacher tell me that he learned yoga so that he could loosen his legs up for running (which he loved). However, over time, I realized that yoga was not just exercise, but a necessity for the health of my body. My lower back and knee have taken quite a beating through years of soccer, rugby, and ice hockey. If I didn't want to succumb to the clutches of arthritis, I had best keep up my yoga. A lack of ligaments holding one's knee together might be fine for a 30 year old, but I could see my 80 year old self unable to rise from my bed:)

However, I realized this year, that I've begun to travel beyond the health benefits of yoga. My yoga teacher is not a touchy/feely/huggy/yogay kind of person, but last June, in a rare moment, she had us go around and tell the group our goal for the session - why we were taking a yoga class. A few people stated they were there for exercise; wanted to get stronger or lose weight. Many wanted to gain greater flexibility in their bodies; they wanted to loosen up their hamstrings, shoulders, etc. When it came to me, I almost started talking about my knee. Yoga has been invaluable to my right leg - I learned how to strengthen it, stretch it, and carry myself upon my shorter, wobbly, crunchy leg. But, I realized that my goals were no longer physical. At that point, I was striving to do yoga everyday. Why? It makes me feel better. I am less tired, happier, more patient with kids (adults too), and more productive when I do yoga on a regular basis. And, the good thing about yoga is that everyone who does it receives the same amount of benefit from it, no matter what their poses look like. Our teacher tells us that the final pose of each asana is merely a suggestion. Iyengar yoga is methodical in making sure that you are doing every pose 100% correctly. It doesn't matter how far you go into a pose - what matters is that you do it correctly; is your knee facing the right side of the room, are your knee caps pulled up, is the outside of your foot parallel to the wall? If you can only go down a few inches, once you get all that figured out, you are still doing the pose. And, believe me, you can still feel it.

And as I delve more into the world of yoga, I also realize that the poses, the asanas, the physical movements are just one branch of yoga. There is breathing, meditation, rules to live by, medicine, and even grammar! Yes, I have drunk the water. I'm a goner.

Now back to Collin and Cayla. I haven't quite figured out how to bring yoga to them. So, I do it slowly, hoping that they grow up assuming yoga will be a part of their lives. And, lord knows, my kids need all the relaxation techniques they can get. My yoga props are all over the house. They play with the blocks and belts all the time. The bolster is an especially popular item. They see me doing yoga. I leave my books around. Collin, likes me to show him asanas. Tree is his favorite! We sometimes do some poses in the morning with our brain gym. They like it. So, I figured they would be happy to do some tonight, and of course they loved it:) We did three restful poses before bed tonight - you can see the sequence at Children in Yoga.

So, that's basically it. I'll get off my soapbox. One thing I've learned from taking a variety of classes at a variety of places is that they are all different beasts; different methods, different speeds, different room temperatures, different expectations. I recommend Iyengar yoga with a certified instructor in a studio full of props. Feel free to call me (or roll your eyes). Namaste.