What good is Yoga anyway?
I had orthoscopic surgery 2 weeks ago and I am managing well. I ride a “spinner bike” every morning and do some yoga afterwards. My range of motion is still compromised and there remains some soreness. But all in all, I can’t complain so far. Hopefully my knee will mend well.
Since I played college football (and by “play” I mean running tailback against the 1st team defense every day and mostly watching the game from the sidelines on Saturday), most of my friends assume that the knee was an old injury related to the “collision sport”, as the late Vince Lombardy called it. But it wasn’t football. It wasn’t rugby. And it wasn’t baseball either. It was yoga.
At this point in my life, I have been practicing Ashtanga Yoga for over 8 years. And I began that journey like it was a sport. Ashtanga is very difficult. And like any good athlete, I wanted to “win” and be “good at yoga”. That was silly. It has taken me years to not only realize, but to practice yoga as a “letting go” instead of an “acquisition”. A teacher once told me, “anyone can work hard, we do it every day - but can you listen and take a step back?” Another said, “the smartest yogi is the one who knows how much yoga to do for that day.” “If it hurts, you’re doing it wrong.” That message did not reach me in time.
When I first learned to snow ski, I couldn’t gain enough speed to hurt myself. When I became a better skiier, that’s when it became dangerous. When I started practing Second Series, I was probably ambitious, but ready nonetheless. Second series Ashtanga requires open hips in order to get into some of the foot-behind-the-head postures. I had a regular practice and when my body was warm, I could move into most postures with relative ease. And it was almost easy when I entered Vatayanasana. Here is a pic via Yogaclub
Notice the right knee is on the ground and the right foot is in lotus position. Beyond the delicate foot/knee position, much balance is at play. It doesn’t take much to slip. And a small slip changed things considerably. So, what is yoga for, anyway? What did I learn?
I teach it to my students and it’s a lesson that I apparently needed to learn again - Yoga is about using your breath to create space between your last thought and your next thought. And when I practice, I feel better, I’m in a better mood, I am nicer, more grateful and a less cranky person. And if I practice with a non-competitive, non-aggressive, compassionate attitude, I won’t get hurt doing something designed to heal.
David Williams puts it nicely: “If you go to India and go to one of these ancient caves where there is an old, bearded yogi inside, and you tell them that you hurt yourself doing yoga, he would think you were crazy.” He would certainly ask, ‘how in the world could you do that?’” Indeed.
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