Why do I do Yoga?

I think it is a good idea for everybody to every now and then take a good look at oneself and question one’s lifestyle, choices and preoccupations.

And thus I asked myself Why do I do yoga?

I practice by myself more or less every day and I teach on a regular basis since a few years after completing a teacher training.

Because I like it. Of course. I like it a lot. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel relaxed, alert, alive, centered, grounded, strong and balanced. But more than that: Yoga has become the platform that currently works best for me to play my role in this game called life. Yoga is like a playground where we explore what it means to be human. And yoga is a great way to expand our consciousness and presence in the here and now.

We can say that Yoga is a practice of self-discovery, of exploring and challenging our abilities and to move beyond our comfort zone. Moreover Yoga teaches us to relax during that winding road of exploring and challenging. To relax in our bodies but also in our mind, no matter what we discover in every moment. In deep relaxation we have to let go of tension, control and judgments and instead invite an attitude of acceptance and loving kindness.

Somebody said: “Yoga is a controlled way to put ourselves in difficult positions.”

Yes, the body postures can be very challenging sometimes, and that gives us an opportunity to investigate our limits, not only in the body but in the mind as well. To know our limits and with respect and gentleness go beyond them - if and when we are ready for that - prepare us for the challenges in our everyday lives. To know ourselves, our limits as well as our potentials, makes us more relaxed, more grounded and centered, more at ease in the midst of the turbulence of life. To know ourselves brings us in touch with the essence of our being, with the flow of Life and that means fulfillment, contentment and true happiness.

Elizabeth Gilbert writes in her book Eat Pray Love:

“…all the sorrow and trouble of this world is caused by unhappy people. The search for contentment is, therefore, not merely a self-preserving and self-benefiting act, but also a generous gift to the world. Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. Only then are you free to serve and enjoy other people.”

There are many kinds and branches of yoga. Here I have been referring to Hatha Yoga, which is the physical branch including the asanas (body postures) which, in turn, has many smaller branches (ashtanga, vinyasa, yin, anusara to mention a few). What differentiate Hatha Yoga from gymnastics or stretching is that it is not ONLY a physical practice: It includes also the very essential aspect of awareness. Awareness of body, breath, mind and spirit.

A Hatha Yoga class can be very soft or very dynamic. When I teach drop-in yoga here on Amorgos the experiences of the students can vary a lot so I need to keep it on a level which fits everybody. That means that even the total beginner should be able to participate, sometimes with a little help from props or by modifications of the postures, there is always a solution. And a more advanced student will always get something new out of any class. Or he/she will just use the platform that the class offers to deepen his/her own practice. When I travel to other places I most often look for a yoga studio and participate in whatever class is on their schedule. I always learn something, thankful to be able to practice with other people.

With Awareness as an essential ingredient of yoga there is always something going on: The body moves, stretches, bends and balances using all kinds of muscles, the breath brings me deeper into the postures and into my own being and also tells me when I go too far. The mind can be tricky; trying to find all kinds of reasons to stop the practice or to cheat a little or it judges my inability to perform a certain pose in a perfect way or questions what is the meaning of it all ANYWAY? When I can smile at myself and my own mind and just surrender to whatever is going on in the present moment, even if I am in a really difficult position, then there is that deep sensation of something else taking over. Something big and blissful, call it spirit, divine force, source, life or whatever you like, but at the bottom line, that’s the reason I do yoga :-)