Yoga is defined as a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation. Being a man and Westerner to boot, my understanding of yoga was that of a simpleton, I presumed it to be a stretching class for women. My perception shifted when I was lured into class by a beautiful trainer at my local gym because they were short on students, this turned out to be my nightmare; holding uncomfortable positions for prolonged durations causing me to stare at the puddle of sweat on the mat, shaking, and fighting my ego to not fail before the women, had me close the door on the ancient practice.
It wasn’t until summer solstice of 2017 when I suffered a 2nd MS attack on the Appalachian Trail and a prolonged 3 month recovery had me searching for natural cures to my numbness, tingling, and fatigue; that I found Diamond Dallas Page Yoga or DDPY and had a reintroduction to what I had programmed as pain to assist my healing. The National MS Society had only one “rigorous” MS clinical trial but it found that fatigue was lowered and as I researched, I found it to be healing for all kinds of trauma. DDP, former WCW Champion of the World at age 43 and illiterate until age 30, had shown the power of his program by resurrecting former greats Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Scott Hall from drinking, drugs, and bodies that were crippled from decades of body slams, pile drivers, and Diamond Cutters; Bang! Being that I wasn’t in any shape to leave the house I ordered the DVD and realized, things could only get better.
I struggled through the “Diamond Dozen,” the intro to the poses that would be utilized and then the 1st workout, “Energy”, only 20 minutes long, took me 3 weeks to master. I was mirroring my mother in a certain respect because she religiously participated in “Sweating to the Oldies,” with Richard Simmons in our living room. It’s true we become our parents, ha! Even though she wasn’t old or obese, as a nurse she knew she needed exercise and she had a blast doing it. So much so she started embracing mine and my sister’s jabs poking fun. Point being it doesn’t matter how outlandish, obscure, or how ridiculous we may think a certain program is, as long as it works for us.
Although I still suffer from balance issues daily you wouldn’t know it when you see me do my one legged DDPY poses before I begin a round of golf, ending in me being able to hold my foot on one leg. In the beginning I could touch my toes but it wasn’t easy and I couldn’t hold it long but after 6 months I was back physically. DDPY was a welcoming reboot to my disposition but it lacks the spirituality of the Hindu art form. Since breath work is crucial to the effectiveness of the poses, thus utilizing the meditation aspect of the craft I recently dived into the deep end and have started training to be a certified yoga instructor.
After my first sessions, all day Saturday and Sunday, my head was spinning like a top! Sanskrit was spoken nonchalantly as if it were Spanish and then chanted. Different breathing techniques were discovered with the practice of being “present” through riding the waves of sensation. Yoga was defined differently through one our texts from the root Sanskrit word “Yuj”, meaning to join or yoke. In addition, Yoga leads to the union of individual consciousness with that of the Universal Consciousness, indicating a perfect harmony between the mind and body, Man, and; Nature. We were introduced to Hatha Yoga, one of eight styles, “Ha” referring to the Sun and “tha” to the moon, or man and woman; balancing through opposites. Sun Salutations followed, 12 seamless poses that flow gracefully together, and from my understanding are executed to give greetings to Sun, identifying it as the soul/source of all life helping to clear blocked energy. A familiar term Namaste, a greeting, has a similar theme; the light in me recognizes the light in you, was spoken with love and sincerity.
Being the only male in a class of 11 gave me a different perspective I had been lacking, the trauma factor! Nicole, another student, joined a discussion I started and helped me see that trauma wasn’t only residing in the mind but stored with strength in the body; something I wasn’t seeing, I thanked her, it was an ah-ha moment. Suzy, our instructor, opened up about her personal trauma and even though it was a terrible experience she communicated without a body response or a reliving, those pathways were no longer wiring and firing; that was clearly evident. I was open about my issue of giving others a role to play and she hit me with this fantastic quote,
“Helping, fixing and serving represent three different ways of seeing life. When you help, you see life as weak. When you fix, you see life as broken. When you serve, you see life as whole. Fixing and helping may be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul.” -Rachel Naomi Remen
Suzy introduced us to the Yamas & Niyamas, the first two practices of Yoga according to Patanjali, a moral code. Yamas, do unto others and Niyamas, do unto yourself. The 10 limbs of the tree mirror the 10 commandments or the virtues of Buddha. Yamas & Niyamas are an awareness taken with us after our studio work to incorporate the balance in the duality of a modern world.
Work, Life, Balance is a tricky equation in a society where information is at our fingertips, paving pathways of instant gratification overriding natural programming. In addition to the 7 billion people on the planet with 7 billion traumas. I became more enlightened to the fact that a word, tone, touch, smell, or pose could trigger a person’s trauma resulting in them transported their and recalling their agony. Yoga offers individuals relief from the survival mode of duality by becoming more in control, through awareness, breath work, and physical activity. Just becoming mindful of my fingers, hands, neck, knees, posture, etc. has me more connected to the masterpiece that is the human body. Anytime we suffer a trauma, there’s a lack of love, control, and a feeling of helplessness, I believe yoga can be the bridge to the connection we seek, the “I am.”
