“From asana arises steadiness of body and mind, freedom from disease and lightness of the limbs.” – Hatha Yoga Pradipika 1.17
I found yoga, or yoga found me, in the Maldives. On a platform in the ocean with the sun setting, waves splashing and a cool breeze blowing. Who wouldn’t fall in love with that? It had me at “Namaste”…
I had played around with yoga while I was a teenager, in the living room with a book that belonged to my mom, and although even at that time it was intriguing and fascinating it was mostly fun to try and master poses like the headstand.
It has been quite a journey since that day on the platform, when I realized that I wanted, needed more.
A lot of yogis find fault with the emphasis that is put today in many classes on the physical asana practice. And it is true that yoga is much more than asana. The way I look at it is that the asana practice is a doorway to the numerous other aspects of yoga. The tip of the iceberg. It offers people a chance to get acquainted with the practice only to gradually discover the underlying wealth of knowledge of this ancient spiritual science.
And that is exactly how it happened for me. In the earlier years I practiced ashtanga yoga. Every early morning before the sun was out, I would roll up my mat and find my way to a small studio in Singapore where, squeezed in between fellow ashtanga yogis, I practiced, Mysore style, under the tutelage of Celeste. Celeste is meditation in motion, pure lean muscle, an inspiration and a hard taskmaster. I detoxed, found muscles I never knew existed, gained flexibility and stamina and the ability to lengthen and move with my breath.
It was intense and when I began my yoga teacher training I found myself gradually moving away to a less demanding practice that still incorporated the flow of ashtanga but allowed me to adjust my practice according to what my body was ready for. At the same time, the teacher training gave me a deeper understanding of the other more spiritual practices of yoga such as breathing, mantra, and meditation.
In the years after that I taught a bit of yoga but mainly experimented with different styles, teachers and the discipline of building a home practice. I met some amazing people along the way who all in their own way, helped me deepen my practice and my connection with life.
Today yoga, for me, is a way to awaken my body, to feel good in my own skin. It is a way to center myself and find inner balance. It gives me glimpses of the pure peace and bliss that is my higher self. It has made me more intuitive and aware, more connected and open to people around me. It is a true blessing.
To use the words of David Frawley *: “Yoga is like a gem of great proportions, containing many facets whose light can illumine the whole of our lives with great meaning.”
I could not agree more.
Monique
* Yoga and Ayurveda – David Frawley
