5 Things I Learned About Yoga from the Pros
Photo Credit: evanbdudley
By Jason Wachob
I’m not a yoga pro or a yogi. In fact, I’m not even your typical yoga person. First of all, I’m a dude. I’m tall – 6’7″ to be exact. Yes, is the answer to your next question: I played basketball. I played for four years in college at Columbia, in New York City. I also was a trader on Wall Street for years. But enough about me, you can read more about my yoga journey here.
However, I do practice yoga, and since I returned to the mat three months ago, I credit yoga for healing the derailed discs in my lower back, and getting me into the best shape I’ve ever been in. As founder and curator of MindBodyGreen.com, I get to interview, meet and even practice with a number of professionals in the yoga world. Here are five things I’ve learned from these amazing people:
1. I learned from Tara Stiles that yoga is for everyone. It’s not just for people in New York or California, or for people who are young, healthy or conscious. Yoga is for everyone. Yoga is for Tara’s Uncle Norm who lives on a farm in Illinois. Yoga is for my 90-year-old grandma (who just began her practice last week!). Yoga is for everyone and anyone who’s looking to connect with their intuition to find their own best health and spirituality.
2. I learned from Kathryn Budig that it’s OK to fall flat on your face – in fact, it’s probably a good thing. Facing our fears by attempting new yoga poses helps us grow both on and off the mat. As Kathryn said, “The ego bruises much worse than the body, but the beating helps to quiet it. The funny thing is, once you believe in yourself and begin to loosen the grip on the fear, you actually enjoy the challenge.”
3. I learned from Mariel Hemingway that you don’t need to look to others in your yoga practice for answers. Mariel has been practicing for 25 years, and about 20 years ago her perspective changed: “I went from following what other people thought was best, or what was right for me and became more connected to my inside – and looked for answers within me.”
4. I learned from Elena Brower that even though it might take a while, it’s important to shop around until you find the instructor that resonates with you. “The underlying method is the same, but each teacher has a distinct voice and brings other understandings to the instruction.” This holds so true. Finding the right instructor and the right practice makes all the difference in the world. It’s this reason why so many people either go to one class and never come back – or become hooked for life!
5. I learned from Michael Taylor that we don’t need to speed up our yoga, we need to slow it down. We’re already good at doing things fast – in fact, we’re all probably too good at this. However, it’s slowing down (especially when it comes to our yoga practice) that might have the real benefits. When we slow down, we become more mindful of our bodies, more in tune with what our bodies are telling us – what our bodies really need, in terms of what we eat, how we practice and how we live our everyday lives.
Jason Wachob’s goal is to promote the idea that wellness is for everyone – and that it can be fun, fulfilling and non-restrictive. He is the founder and curator of MindBodyGreen – a website that provides tips, news and inspiring interviews for better, healthy, green living. After years of successfully trading equities on Wall Street, Jason decided to make a lifestyle change – focusing on wellness and building companies that promote it.
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6 Comments
I love this article, especially the last tip. I am always doing everything too fast, even yoga.
I feel that yoga is the best way to keep yourself fit and healthy. I Just love this article. Thank you for sharing so much of information.
If you are just starting yoga, you will get little help on the net. Almost everywhere there are experienced yoga teachers whose talk appears Greek to you. However, I could find a good resource for Yoga beginners at one destination. At http://www.facebook.com/yogaforbeginners you get to know Yoga in the language you want to know. You can also meet many yoga starters like you and discuss Yoga with them. I recommend this page.
Yoga is for everybody. It is both curative and preventive.
As a yogini of 11 years, I can attest to yoga’s positive qualities. It’s helped my asthma, healed a broken wrist (I can do handstands again!) and finger, and is slowly helping me to be more aware, relaxed, and kind.
Nice! I especially like #2. I just started Ashtanga yoga and was surprised that even after doing my other yoga practice, this one had falling all over the place! But it is good to challenge myself and see just what I can do. I’ll keep at it.
Thanks for this post.
June 30, 2010