In Yoga Shape
Doesn't Count
by Genia Pauli
Haddon
Yoga! Suddenly, everyone wants
to know about this gentle approach to whole-self fitness. A recent Roper poll
reveals that over six million Americans (more than 3% of the population) already
practice yoga, and easily 17 million more —about one in 10— are interested in
trying it. These numbers will likely double once the word gets out: You don't
have to be lean, lithe, and super-flexible to practice yoga.
I recommend yoga as a fitness resource for people with "round bodies."
Depending on how you feel about the fact, you might describe me as plump,
large-size, round-bodied, obese, heavy, or fat. Except during temporary bouts
with diet pills, Weight Watchers, and grapefruit diets, I've never been
slim.
I am in company with fully a third of the U.S. population, who are
`overweight' even according to the more relaxed new height-weight charts. And up
to two thirds of Americans consider themselves to be `too fat.' We are the
people who are least likely to imagine ourselves doing yoga — and most likely to
secretly wish we could find a non-strenuous, enjoyable path to greater fitness
that would not make us feel inferior, ugly or inept. Feeling good about the
fitness program we select, and about ourselves as we practice it, may be as
important for good health as the more objective benefits this or that program
may boast.
While the medical consensus is that excess weight poses a health risk, it
has also been shown that fluctuation of weight from repeated dieting is more
harmful than consistent obesity. Other studies, reported by a 1992 National
Institutes of Health (NIH) panel, have shown that no weight-reduction regime yet
devised results in permanent weight loss for most patients. More than 90% of
dieters regain all they have lost, or more. That being so, I have decided to
forget about `losing weight' and focus instead on being as healthy as possible
with the body I have. I have become convinced that much of the health risk from
obesity is the result of stress and self-rejection due to repeated failed
efforts to reduce weight, and internalized messages that round bodies are both
unattractive and dangerous to health. All this means is that if I can become
self-accepting of myself as I am, if I can find a way to enjoy being in my body
as it is, then I should be healthier than if I keep trying to lose weight.
Kripalu Yoga has become my personal key to health as a heavy-weight. Total
well-being is my goal.
There is evidence that regular yoga practice can contribute to
cardiovascular health by providing both stress release and aerobic effect
without strenuous calisthenics. These same features make yoga a natural choice
for helping relieve a variety of other ills, including high blood pressure,
osteoporosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, stiffness from arthritis, eyestrain,
posture-related back and neck problems, and chronic pain. Benefits accumulate
with regular practice. Even three sessions a week can bring impressive
results.
Yoga: Body &
Soul
Stress release, flexibility, strength, peace of mind, cardiovascular
health...how does yoga do all this? It has to do with aligning both physical and
subtle bodies so that clear channels open for the movement of energy, at every
level. Yet, the practice is supremely simple. Ease into a posture...hold the
position for maximum benefit... then slowly release. By moving just to the edge
of your current flexibility, and holding at that edge without pushing yourself
to achieve more, you will activate chronic tensions held deep within the body at
both physical and subtle levels. These are tensions not touched by ordinary
relaxation methods. Yoga asanas consciously induce therapeutic tensions in order
to discharge habitual, pathological tensions. As Yogi Amrit Desai, founder of
Kripalu Yoga, explains, "It is like using a thorn to pick out a thorn; and then
throwing them both away."
While it is perfectly possible to approach yoga as a purely physical
discipline, most people find that their experiences on the mat spontaneously
take on the quality of spiritual experiences. This is in keeping with the
original purposes of yoga as the science of enlightenment.
Mostly, these experiences are quiet, interior events...moments of clarity,
joy, peace, unconditional love for self and world. On one memorable occasion, I
experienced such a moment while demonstrating yoga under bright studio lights,
in front of three cameras.
My teaching partner and I had been `on the set, live' for fifteen hours a
day, two days running. The final segment taped was a Postureflow, a feature
distinctive to Kripalu Yoga. Guided by the body's own energy, a person slowly
flows spontaneously from posture to posture. It's an intimate experience,
choreographed by the body itself.
We weren't sure we could accomplish that level of concentration under
those bright lights. We told the crew we needed not only their best technical
expertise, but also their deepest attention to create a real flow under those
conditions.
It worked. As we flowed from posture to posture for nearly a half hour to
Steve Roach's haunting "Structures from Silence", there wasn't a sound but our
breathing and the music. I entered into deep communion with my body,
experiencing peace, well-being, bliss, watching as my body took itself into
positions I had never before achieved. My heavy-set body, so often considered
ugly and unhealthy by myself and others, flowed with grace and beauty.
When we finished, the entire crew remained suspended in silence for
several minutes longer, some with their eyes closed as though entranced by what
they had just witnessed. This spontaneous communal awe was one of the most
moving experiences of my life.
Yoga, More Than
Religion
The techniques of yoga help open the practitioner to experiences that can
only be called spiritual. Because yoga originated within eastern culture,
sometimes elements from eastern religions are carried over, causing westerners
to fear that their faith traditions might be harmed. This need not be so.
Insights from the mat have not interfered with my foundational faith as an
ordained Protestant minister, and I believe it is possible to integrate yogic
consciousness with any authentic spiritual path.
Health, wholeness, and holiness all come from the identical word root. In
seeking one, we are destined to find them all. This is why the science of yoga,
from a Sanskrit root meaning `union', is an excellent choice within any holistic
program for total health. It promotes union of body, mind and spirit —
ultimately, the only basis for wellness.
This article was reprinted from:
Uniting Sex, Self and Spirit
by Genia Pauli
Haddon.
Excerpted with permission of the publisher, Plus Publications.
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About The
Author
Genia Pauli Haddon, D.Min., Ph.D., creator
of the nationally acclaimed videos "Yoga for Round Bodies 1 & 2", is a
certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher. Dr. Haddon is also the author of "Uniting
Sex, Self, & Spirit" and "The Art of Living" inspirational card
deck. She can be reached at: Plus Publications, P.O. Box 265, Suite 200,
Scotland, CT 06264.
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