A Great Misunderstanding

As family gathered for our holiday meal, I told one guest the story of how I took the winter off from running last year during the coldest, snowiest months, and just did yoga.

The relative asked:
"Was it hard to get back in shape?"
"No, It was fine, I was doing yoga 5 times a week"
"Well, what about the aerobic part?"
"Seriously, I was doing yoga 5 times a week, it's not like I got out of shape."
"How would that help?" she asked.


This is not the first conversation I've had like this.  I mean, I was surprised how much the breath work we do in yoga translated to spring running, but I knew that first run of the spring would be nowhere near as painful as when I was coming back from pregnancy, or that year I spent on the couch during grad school.  Research has shown that the first 15 minutes of an Ashtanga class bring the heart rate up to what is needed for aerobic exercise.  And though I feel calm and still in "wheel", I definitely notice a change in my breathing when I emerge.

I used yoga as a metaphor for volunteer burn-out at a committee meeting recently.  I explained how sometimes I overdo it, ending up with tired sore muscles or even an injury, and need to pull back "At yoga?" they asked in shocked voices. 

Somehow a great majority of folks seem to think that all yoga is Gentle Yoga or Yin Yoga. In fact Hatha yoga is about the balance between strong and passive energies.  Cyndi Lee explains it much like my yoga teacher back at Willow Glen used to: "Hatha is also translated as ha meaning "sun" and tha meaning "moon." This refers to the balance of masculine aspects—active, hot, sun—and feminine aspects—receptive, cool, moon—within all of us. Hatha yoga is a path toward creating balance and uniting opposites. In our physical bodies we develop a balance of strength and flexibility. We also learn to balance our effort and surrender in each pose."

I don't know how we overcome this widespread perception of hatha yoga is a yin-only practice.  But anyone who's practiced on Saturday morning at Sunrise Yoga knows there is plenty of warm sun in that practice to get anyone through the coldest winter.

twisting deeper

As I was walking to yoga I noticed that winter's cold had dropped to a new place.  It's colder than it's been, but certaily not as cold as it will be.  It reminded me of going into a deep seated twist:
inhale- sit tall, lengthen the spine
exhale- move deeper into the twist

As we twist deeper and deeper into winter, the deepening motion inhales for almost rhythmic pauses.  The whole eco-system breathes into the new, colder reality.  We pause there for a moment, then exhaling, move deeper and deeper into winter.