My First Thoughts of Yoga
It will be my humble intent, in this blog series, to explain what Yoga is and how the practice of Yoga can and should be a part of every man’s daily routine. From the physical to the mental and spiritual aspects of the practice to some of the major health benefits we all improve through this ancient style of exercise. It is not my thought to explain every aspect but rather to “wet your whistle” or even open your mind to the study of Yoga.
Through the use of simple words of instruction and inspiration along with beautiful photography and videos this website and social network should help you to explore new paths to health and understanding yourself. Realize that none of this information is new. The practice of Yoga is thousands of years old but in our western world of religion and lack of healthy lifestyle information much of the knowledge contained here is out of the mainstream.
My hopes are that if I can introduce a few men to a new idea or new approach to their health, including the physical, mental, and spiritual and just maybe improve their self-image, self-worth, communication skills and relationships, then this site and all of the thought and work put into it will be more than worth it.
Why Yoga?
I am often asked the question, “Why do you do Yoga?” I know the answer for me, but the answers for anyone else are as diverse as there are numbers of people in the world. For myself, I was introduced to Yoga while I was in College at Carnegie-Mellon University in the early 80’s. I was studying Musical Theatre and during dance classes needed a lot more flexibility. One of my teachers suggested Yoga as a means of getting it. I went to a class and was the only man in the class, which got me a lot of attention that was just one more reason why I stayed. The classes really did help with all of flexibility issues but once I had learned how to be more flexible I stopped going to the class.
It was a few years later that I had my first real injury from dancing that I found Yoga again. I was doing physical therapy for some pulled muscles in my back when, once again, Yoga came to my rescue. This time I started classes I was not so focused on just one aspect of why I was there. I was there to stop the pain and learn how not to let it happen again. As the pain started to decrease I noticed that my strength was getting better. I found that other movement issues that I had noticed began to correct themselves as well.
The next thing I noticed was that the anxiety that I was always prone to seemed to be subsiding and I just felt better. All the time! Not just after a class. I was sleeping better and my strength and endurance just kept improving.
Then life took a big change and I stopped performing and found myself at a desk job. I stopped doing any real physical work and gained weight and really let myself go. After a while I found myself at the doctors with excruciating pain in my lower back and shooting down my leg. It was diagnosed as sciatica and I started getting regular cortisone shots to help control the pain, but nothing the doctors did stopped the pain. Once again, Yoga was recommended. I started a regular practice and found out that what I had was not sciatica but instead Piriformis Syndrome which is more common and often misdiagnosed. After a few months of practice the pain was completely gone and I have not had a shot of cortisone since then.
Once again, I found myself with a huge life change. I had a couple of choices of where to turn and what to do but, my body had fallen apart and the choice I made was to go back to school and learn what I could about how to take care of myself. I studied and became a Personal Trainer. As I started working on myself and then others I kept up my Yoga practice and found that working with so many of my clients that the Yoga moves and classes had more beneficial results than any other form of exercise. They were also more accessible to more people than most of the weighted or standard gym exercises.
Now, at age fifty-nine, I know that Yoga has given me more results, more strength, more range of motion and keeps me more grounded than anything program or workout regime I have ever tried. So, I continue to take daily classes and teach as often as I can. Yoga has become my life and my life has become Yoga.
These thoughts and ramblings will be continued in future posts.
In peace and friendship, David
