From Patanjali to Mindful Yoga Workout
What do I mean by Mindful Yoga Workout?
Mindful Yoga Workout is my teaching style. I have chosen the words which best describe what I am doing and what one should expect when coming for the first time to my classes.
I call it workout because the focus is on the physical part of yoga practice. It's an asana-based class. It's still yoga. Asanas are our primary tool to explore the body-mind connection, to stretch and strengthen. It needs to be challenging to tap into the present moment. Being here and now, consciously moving with control and awareness through the asana sequences. That makes it mindful.
I want to distinguish from the HIIT and bodyweight workouts where the focus might be burning calories, simply toning specific muscle groups, cardio, or getting tired. I don't want to say yoga is superior to any other physical routine. It is just different. As we like to say in Bulgaria, there are passengers for every train. Yoga can be as challenging and exhausting as other physical practices, but this is not our primary goal.
I chose to call my yoga style the simple and modest "workout" cause I think that it can prepare the new yogis for the upcoming challenge. Many people think yoga is something relaxing and is only stretching. Yes, yoga can be both. There are way too many yoga styles and passengers for all of them.
The more modern yoga increases its popularity globally, the more new yoga styles will be developed. The practice for someone in tropical summer might be different than in Scandinavian winter; let's start from here. Teenagers and seniors can also benefit from regular asana, but their practice might differ. Pregnant women's bodies will have different needs than professional athletes who want to try yoga. Busy urban minds may proceed with information differently than someone living in a quiet town. Office employees will enjoy other types of yoga than physical workers at the end of their working day, yet they all can do yoga, and there is something for all of them.
Yes, yoga is changing. As B.K.S. Iyengar said, yoga is a science and an art, and they both develop. Contemporary yoga, the way we know it today, has been developed mainly over the last century. Yoga used to be a spiritual practice for renunciates on the path to enlightenment, the "real yogis." T. Krishnamacharya, "the father of modern yoga," first spread some yoga aspects to householders, people like you and me, living in that material world, being attached to possessions, chasing goals, and thinking about the purpose of life.
As you can see, yoga can be for everyone, regardless of their way of living and where they are on the spiritual path. Yoga can be everything, but not everything is yoga. The lack of clarity on what yoga is about might stop someone from trying it, or too many expectations can turn the first class into a disappointment.
With the simple "yoga workout," I want to clarify that you need to do some physical work when you come. Don't expect to only stretch on the floor for 60 minutes. (For this, google Yin Yoga classes near you. Different styles, different tools). It sounds superficial to do yoga as a workout, especially to someone primarily looking to learn more about chakras, to deepen into energetical aspects, philosophy, chanting, and meditation.
Yes, I also teach elements of more subtle yoga practice, even in the regular group yoga workouts. Yet, this is more of a secondary topic, completing the class. 60 minutes is way too short of teaching everything in one yoga class, especially if it is an open group session with a lot of drop-in students every time. For this purpose, deepening into a specific aspect of yoga, you can look for workshops, master classes, and courses or simply the right "yoga style" for you.
If the Mindful yoga workout sounds like something for your body and mind, I look forward to meeting you on the mat.
The pictures are taken at Mudralina Mindful Living.
