Yoga-space

  Balasana - The Child Pose
“I relax from outer involvement into my inner haven of peace.”

The Dharma Shala, home of Ashtanga yoga London, is small, intimate, peaceful and very hot.  The small purple feet logo intermittently appears on the floorboards, and the yellow walls are humid with yogi sweat and condensation. The tiny corridor is filled with coats and bags, and the two small adjoining rooms link in more than one way, as students start their practice in one before being called into the main room, and then finish back in the smaller room. 

From 6am monday to friday, the dedicated turn up every morning to go through their practice.  After being buzzed in, you get hit by the heat, and then prepare to practice, going through the motions of taking clothes off, getting the mat out,...all whilst being calmed and brought to focus by the deep breathing of others around you. 

The mats are close to each other, side by side, silently everyone acknowledges each other. The odd flick of the finger or hand collision with someone next to you happens occasionally, even though everyone takes great care of each other and has great respect for each other's practice. 

The only voice is that of Hamish calling out "One more" every so often, keeping a constant flow of people moving between the two rooms.  The mat gets placed between two others again and the practice continues. 

Adjustments are at the same time firm and gentle, and tend to appear exactly where you need them.  This encourages a careful but rigorous practice, as the adjustments set the tone. 

At the end of practice, as you look around and take in the room, many genuine smiles and nods are exchanged with those arriving, preparing to leave and those adjusting.  It's a warming way to be seen off back into the cold and the bustle of London. 

6pm Evening practice with Roberta is less crowded, but just as powerful in every way as the morning classes.  Here many are helped along their yoga paths, with compassion, support and encouragement. 

At the Dharma shala I felt that I had shared my practice with those around me and that they had shared theirs with me.  In this I felt great sense of honor and happiness.  The energy being spread around here is very special, and gives a feeling of sacredness to the shala.  This is not just a place where you practice yoga, this is a place where you experience yoga.  A place of inhaling and exhaling, giving and receiving, sharing and caring.

When we first come to yoga, the mat is the least of our worries, seeing that there is so much more to worry about in the execution of the postures themselves.  As we become more dedicated, many of us invest in our own, usually a sticky mat, but as we progress we look for more in a mat.  All of us have different exigencies from our it.  Here we look briefly at the 3 most popular types of mat and our relationship with them.

The sticky mat

This mat is always remembered because it is the first.  They come in a number of excellent colors to choose from, and are practical, being light and small enough to fit in a standard tote or mat bag.  After a while though, it starts to decompose covering the user in a multitude of latex confetti.  At this point it is time to invest in a new mat.  A lot of people will buy another sticky mat, as they satisfy their needs adequately.  And for some…it’s time to move on.

The manduka mat

Once we get to the point where jump backs and other such activities start to hurt the toes or another part of our bodies, it becomes evident that a thicker mat is required.  Once we have become more dedicated, it is more cost effective also to invest in a heavy duty mat.

The manduka is strong, thick but very heavy.  It doesn’t fit in standard mat bags and can be a bit of an inconvenience to lug around.  It does however last for ages and ages, and the more it gets used, the better it gets.  It doesn’t bunch up during practice, and it doesn’t fall apart.

The cotton mat

This mat is often discovered after having suffered the ice rink that is a sweaty mat for some of us.  The cotton mat absorbs sweat and used on top of a sticky mat, sufficient padding is provided.  This type of mat also gets better as it wears in.  It travels well being light and quite small rolled up. 

Although we should practice non-attachment we all more or less become attached to our mats.  Gabriel Halpern (director of the yoga circle) said "Practice develops a ritual relationship to the mat.  A mat becomes a flying carpet. It has a sense of presence after being invested in over many sessions."  Indeed, using the same mat for a while creates an emotional disposition towards it.  After all, it witnesses all of our progress and breakthroughs, and assists us throughout.  Sometimes it has traveled far and wide with us, accompanying us on all sorts of journeys.  Eventually we have a history with it, and it’s not easy to give it up.  We remember it fondly, and find at first that the new mat is not so good as the last and feel a longing for the old one, or we find that it is so wonderfully good that we forget all about the relationship with the previous one very quickly. 

Cara Jepsen likens it playfully to the romantic involvement we have with our partners past and present and how we become seduced.  She gives a good account of all the mats available and how to look after them.

Many people start yoga and immediately feel some kind of affinity with it.  Coming regularly to class helps progress at a steady pace, and ensures that enthusiasm remains high.  This attitude brings about happiness and yoga becomes a positive influence.

One mistake which often occurs however is trying too hard. 

Some people come from competitive sports backgrounds where striving to be the best is usual and recommended.  Yoga however is not a competitive endeavor.   It’s sometimes difficult to get out of this frame of mind, especially if you are cross training.  Approaching yoga in a competitive way is not doing yoga.  It’s doing gymnastics, turning it into something athletic. 

 
Yoga basically put is aimed at integrating mind, body and spirit to enhance health and well-being.  It comes from "yoke"—the act of yoking or joining together.  It’s about connecting with yourself, finding yourself.

 
Impatience often crops up at some point.  It often leads people forcing themselves into postures.  Lotus is a common one.  It takes time to get into postures which are difficult or involve being especially bendy or strong, focused.  It’s important to experience using the breath to help you gradually get there, and to use the bandas for gaining that balance and lift necessary for so many of them.   These things come with experience.  It takes a lifetime. 

 
A nasty consequence of forcing postures is injury.  Muscles get pulled, backs get put out, tendons get strained, and people blow their knees out, hurt their hips… This means that you will have to stop practicing until you are healed.  Coming along with an injury will only make it worse.  If you are injured right now or want to know more about dealing with injuries take a look at this previous blog article.

A beginner starting to play the piano will not be a virtuoso within a couple of weeks.

In class there are sometimes advanced practitioners who have been involved in yoga for a long time.  It’s nice to watch and see what is to come, however it’s important to understand that a lot of this is not something that is available at first.  It takes time, discipline and practice to achieve their level.  They were also once at that same stage.

If you see someone flat to their shins during a forward bend and you are sat up straight holding your toes, feeling it, then you are getting the same benefit out of it as they are.  They just need to go further to get it.

Be sensitive to your body and be compassionate towards it.  Focus on your practice and make it yours.    We are all beginners every time we come to the mat.

 
Remember that yoga is “not about doing but about undoing” (Emil Wendel).

You can read more about this here: Yoga Should Heal, Not Hurt and House of Yoga also have some useful information for staying safe.