02/10/2024
Yessss!!!! Yin Yoga!!!! Tuesdays 11.30
Modern yoga has become obsessed with asana. Since the late 70’s and 80’s yoga has – more often than not - become an aerobic exercise. A performance. Dare I say, even a contest.
Enter the rise of social media. Instagram culture. Now we have a platform that glorifies the visual. The aesthetic. The image we portray. Appearance has become the selling point.
Instagram was originally developed to showcase art. Photography. Creative expression. Never did we think it would be embraced by the world in such a way that all industries recognize it as one of the most important platforms to market from.
This has had a detrimental effect on the yoga world.
It’s helped to feed the idea that the practice is all about the physical - to land these fancy looking shapes. That, to become advanced or recognized as a teacher, we need to be able to contort our bodies in a way that many of us were not born to do.
What has been lost in many cases, is the ability to underpin the heart of the practice. That yoga is for everyone, not just those with extreme range of motion and exceptional athletic abilities. That yoga wasn’t designed to master the physical form, but to master the heart-mind connection. To help us cultivate self-awareness in order to identify the obstacles that are standing in the way of us connecting to a Power Far Greater than ourselves.
The body is a tool to utilize. Something to work with, in order to stir the deeper layers. To observe our mental and emotional patterns. To learn how to navigate our internal waters. To gain clarity and insight into what’s holding us back from finding a more peaceful and meaningful way of life.
We need to learn to cultivate body intelligence, but this just the starting point - the gateway to finding a safe and sustainable practice that, over time, will help us to navigate our internal waters with grace and ease.
*Nicky Hadjithoma*
