Notes on yoga: grounding

 When I first started practicing yoga, it was not a successful attempt. 

I registered for an in-person class (it was about 12 years ago, and Zoom classes were not even on the horizon), a Hatha class in the basement of a boutique hotel in Beijing, by the sides of its relaxing pool.

 When I got there, nobody explained anything: there was this teacher, a beautiful Asian guy, who performed beautiful and complicated asana, for us to imitate - as if... . The class ended with handstands by the wall. 

Needless to say, I did not perform handstands. Or any other asana that I can remember of. I left without having any idea about yoga asana or any other limbs of yoga - or that yoga limbs existed, even, but you can't have it all in one class, right?  I also brought with me out of the door a sense of deep frustration, anger even. Where was that "feeling good" that I had heard so much talk about in yoga circles? I decided that the discipline was not for me. 

Months later,  a friend mentioned hot yoga and I got curious. She could bring in a friend for free and so I decided to take a class with her. It was love at first sweat. Sofia (the teacher) was guiding us softly but firmly into the asana of a Bikram-style class. I never thought that sweating so much could bring so much joy. At the end of the class, in a small cozy space outside the hot room, we were served scented tea and Sofia were sitting with us. She asked me how it was. I tried to formulate something to say, but apparently I had forgotten how to speak English. So I told her: "Sorry, fantastic, but it's like I can't speak English right now." Sofia smiled her reassuring smile and said: "Take your time. You are still in your yoga mind now."

So I discovered that I had a yoga mind. And decided to go back. 

I went back to the hot room for years, in many parts of the world. It was Beijing, Bali, Rome, New York, Koh Samui, Oahu. It gave me powerful glutes and quads, yes. But the thing I could not explain to others at the time - because I did not know it myself - was that it grounded me. It made me feel so much connected to myself. If my mind wandered during practice, following its chatter, I would fall out of the asana, fall out of breath, feel my blood pressure shift, at times I needed to lie down. And I had done it to myself. So I learned to keep my focus on the practice, on me practicing in the mirror, on my breath, without judgment for me or for the other practitioners. Funny enough, it's easier in a heated room, because you will "pay" for your getting distracted. 

Each time I left the room, I could just barely remember the problems that had been on my mind before - or, I had the right solution to them. 

I am not saying that the heated room is the answer. You could find a number of negative aspects to that, too - but the same could be said for any practice. Go back to that first Hatha class, for example. It's all a matter of perspectives. The only truth is that it made me feel good. Grounded, as it goes. More stable, not only on my feet, but also in my mind. 

And is it not one of the aims of yoga? Bringing you closer to the earth, vibrating closer to the earth frequence, feeling rooted, grounded. Only when you are grounded you can reach the other limbs, up to samadhi.

No matter the road you take to reach yoga, no matter the twists and turns, the ups and downs, the slowing down and stops, you will know when you get there. And all you have experienced along that road will make sense.