What is the purpose of yoga?

There are so many different styles of yoga to choose from these days; finding the right one for you can be bewildering.

Our society is searching for new inspiration in old traditions, and yoga has become a trendy way to find that missing something  in our busy lives. But while some of these newer styles satisfy the gym-hungry people who want to push harder, stretch further, and hold poses for long periods of time, the deeper meaning of yoga is being lost.

My Mum used to say, “If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly.” For me, that means when it comes to yoga, it’s worth exploring ‘authentic’ yoga – yoga that is not just about the physical movements, but about the body, mind and spirit as a whole.

About 2,000 years ago, an Indian sage called Patanjali systemised the various yoga traditions that had been evolving in India for many centuries. It was a revolutionary move and allowed for the different paths of yoga to be integrated together. In his important book of yoga, he starts with the succinct words: “Yogachittabritta nirodaha.” Roughly translated that means yoga is to calm the unsettled mind.

So, if the purpose of yoga us to calm the mind, then doing callisthenics and calling it yoga is missing the point of yoga. (more…)

Why I decided to become a yoga teacher

I didn’t decide to become a yoga teacher. I was led to it.

Decades ago, I bought a video at Target on a whim. It was a video showing Jerry Hall being instructed in yoga exercises by a yogi named Vimla Lalvani. There was something vaguely familiar about the way Vimla moved, spoke and looked. It was both joyful and peaceful, and I was mesmerised.

This was my introduction to yoga.

After several years of watching and trying to master these poses – whilst simultaneously cooking (read ‘burning’) dinner, I realised that I needed more direct guidance. I tried several different yoga studios around Brisbane, but none felt right to me. I was a single mum, and the young, energetic instructors I was finding just weren’t what I needed.

Then I was introduced to the most serene person I have ever met. (more…)