Monday, August 16, 2010

Yoga...

Posted by C.Worring



"I absolutely love Yoga"!!!  Ever wonder why we 'Yogi's' seem to be more mild mannered than 'non-Yogi's'....well..is it built in? Learned?

I was first introduced to Yoga by my father.  It all started when I had some 'night terrors' as a child.  I used wake up in the middle of the night screaming and scared.  At first, I thought it was from nightmares. But every time I would wake up I couldn't seem to remember my dreams! I would just wake up in a cold sweat.

Went through some evaluations and tests...and all agreed that  I had no psychological illness just a bit of everyday stress, that I would need to learn to manage.  All it was...as my father explained it to me was -- I needed to learn how to relax and learn the basics of 'meditation'.

"Meditate"??? Hmmm, no idea what that meant~! At 6 years old...what??

Growing up, I watched my father do the headstand.  He always had his eyes closed and would stay in several other poses for minutes at a time.  At first, I thought it was the strangest thing ever. He finally convinced me to try it.

I first learned  ... the 'Staff pose'~Dansana.  He told me to have both eyes closed.

My father told me, "Say a prayer and say it twice...( say it loud or to yourself).. "

He told me, "listen to your voice, your breathing...and slowly inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. At first I thought this was so strange and weird.  I was one of those kids that had to have music on, at all times!

Beginner Yoga poses  ~click on this link for some 'How to...poses'

He was so patient with me...we practiced it together every single day until I could clearly hear my breathing... learning other poses and sleeping well every night.  All of a sudden, the night terrors were gone!! Maybe I was stressing myself out for no apparent reason.

I did this every night.  This practice not only helped me sleep, but it helped me through all these years deal with sleepless nights.

To date, I practice Yoga at home at least once a week.  It is a part of my life that I shared with my father and will continue to share with my loved ones.

Yoga has been around for years, from Vinyasa to Bikram.

I recommend the Yoga Tree : http://www.yogatreesf.com/


But for all those who are curious on how to be a Yogi...you don't need to be flexible or extremely athletic to be one.  Do a "child's pose"...hear your inner soul, it is all about learning to relax, meditate and concentrate on yourself.

Thanks Dad!
Namaste

1 comment:

  1. This is very convincing i will have to try it.

    ReplyDelete