A few months ago a friend of mine who teaches at the University (UM-Duluth) asked if I would agree to be interviewed by a couple of her students from her Peace Studies class, as they were really curious about yoga. I agreed, and here is what came out of the interview.
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In honor of the new year, and to complement this post, I drew this peace zentangle. |
Peace studies interview questions:
1. How did you initially get
involved in peacework?
I have no formal training in peacework.
However, I believe there are many similar beliefs in yoga as in
peacework.
2. Who/what influenced you to start
teaching yoga?
I started to practice yoga in the late
1990's to see if I could get out of pain. I had had many car
accidents as a teenager and had chronic neck and back pain. I found a
yoga program on TV and did the lessons every day for about 3 years
before I finally worked up the courage to take a real-live class here
in Duluth.
I loved the meditative aspect of yoga,
the way my mind was becoming calmer and more peaceful. I took more
and more classes, signing up for in-depth studies and philosophy
classes. Finally, there were no more in-depth studies offered except
for teacher training. I decided to take the leap and apply for the
training even though it seemed terrifying. I think it was so scary
because it was something that I really wanted to learn and do. But I
was afraid that I would change so much as a person that perhaps the
rest of my life would be left behind.
Thankfully, that is not what happened.
What happened is that I found a greater acceptance of myself. I found
peace in my mind and in my body. I found a practice that supported me
where I was at. And a topic that I was passionate about sharing and
good at teaching.
3. What styles of yoga do you teach?
Explain what each of them entails.
I teach mostly relaxation and guided
meditation. I can teach Hatha and flowing yoga (Vinyasa style) but
what calls to me and what I teach best is Therapeutic yoga in these
styles: Restorative Yoga, Yin Yoga, and iRest Yoga Nidra.
Restorative Yoga:
Restorative Yoga is a therapeutic style
of yoga which utilizes multiple props to make it easier for the body
to get into certain poses, and thus, surrender to the pose.
Practicing poses using props provides a completely supportive
environment for total relaxation. The more your body is supported in
the poses the deeper the sense of relaxation. Relaxation is a state
in which there is no movement, no effort, and the brain is quiet.
Typically, Restorative poses are sustained for ten minutes or for as
long as you are comfortable.
Yin Yoga
Yin Yoga uses traditional Hatha
poses—mostly seated or
reclining postures—which
allow a deep stretch, combined with Restorative style poses, which
use multiple props to support the body. Together, these allow a deep
opening in the body. All poses are held longer than in a regular
Hatha class: around 5 minutes per pose. Yin yoga poses apply moderate
stress to the connective tissues of the body—the tendons, fascia,
and ligaments—with the aim of increasing circulation in the joints
and improving flexibility. The dynamic of the class is meditative,
focusing on the breath and using the breath to find opening and ease
in the body.
iRest Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra means “yogic sleep” and
is one of the deepest states of awareness and relaxation we can
experience while being awake. Class consists of a variety of
relaxation techniques including guided meditation & imagery,
breathwork, and sense withdrawal (bringing awareness deeper and
deeper until only the sense of hearing is outwardly focused). In the
state of deep relaxation, tension is released from the body on a
physical level, and the mind completely switches off, allowing us to
settle into pure awareness. The relaxation response brings your
system into balance. When practiced regularly, you will reduce your
everyday stress levels and boost your feelings of wellbeing. You will
also build deeper awareness and bolster your health with deep
relaxation.
4. What benefits do you think yoga
has on the body and mind/ benefits in general?
Yoga benefits include maintaining or
increasing range of motion, flexibility, and strength, building
stronger inner core muscles, finding more peace of mind, finding your
calm center, building awareness of self, increasing self-acceptance
and self-love, letting go of negative thought patterns, recognizing
your mistakes as “human” instead of “stupid,” recognizing
your own “faults” and liking yourself anyway, letting go of
trying to change people, decrease in stress and the “stress
hormone” cortisol, increase in “bonding and love” hormones
oxytocin and serotonin, better sleeping, heart health, and in
general, regular yoga practice produces an overall feeling of better
health and more contentment.
5. How do you think yoga helps with
peace in the community?
I used to wonder how yoga helped
promote peace or women's rights or issues around poverty, education,
discrimination, and so on. I wondered if practicing yoga was selfish
because I was focusing my attention on myself and looking inward
instead of being out there on the streets with a protest sign. But
now I see a place for both of these things. And what I have really
come to see is that through my yoga practice I have trained my mind
to be less angry, less judgmental, less reactive. I still have
compassion and strong beliefs, but I do not have the same amount of
emotional attachment to an outcome. This gives me peace of mind and
lessens the overall amount of anger and violence in the world. There
is an idea in yoga that the more peace we have in ourselves, the more
the ripples of peace will extend outward to our community.
6. What do you think it is about
yoga that draws in and interests others?
I think people are attracted to yoga
first for the idea that they could get in shape or start a healthy
habit such as meditation. As people continue with yoga I think it is
the richness of the history, the philosophical knowledge, the ethical
guidelines, the community, and learning and accepting of the self
that keeps them interested.
7. How has yoga changed your life
since you first started?
On a physical level, I am stronger and
more flexible. On an emotional level, I am much steadier – not
nearly so many ups and downs. And on a life level, I am now a yoga
teacher, involved in a yoga community, teaching students, and
teaching others to be teachers too.
8. Other than yoga, what things can
people do to create peace within the mind and body?
The most important thing to remember is
to breathe. If we can breathe calm and steady we will be calm and
steady. If we can train our minds to be kind and engaged in the
present moment, we will find contentment. People find this kind of
training through mindfulness based practices such as meditation,
yoga, and prayer. We can also join peace communities such as Peace
Choir or Peace Church.
9. What recommendations do you have,
such as books, articles, film, or website, that would enhance our
understanding of yoga?
10. Would we benefit from attending
a group, participating in an activity, taking a tour, or observing
any particular setting (experiential learning).
1) There is a Meditation 101 class
starting at Yoga North on Wednesday Nov 18. It's a 5 week series.
2) There is a book of yoga ethics I
strongly recommend. And it's best if you have a book group to discuss
it with. I would read and discuss one chapter a month:
The Yamas & Niyamas by Deborah Adele.
11. List your favorite quote:
"Go so deep into yourself you speak
for everyone."
~ quote is from Ed Ochester who is
quoting Galway Kinnell
This came up for me when my yoga
teacher training (YTT) group was assigned to do an individual art
project for our final project. I had lots of fear surrounding this
assignment because I do not consider myself artistic/creative. I know
I am good with words so I decided to write a spoken word poem for my
art project. As I was writing I recognized that the rant running in
my head about how awful it was to be assigned to create an art
project was all about my own fears, feeling inadequate, and imagining
that I was no good. I know that these feelings are universal. Then I
came across this poem with the final line "go so deep into
yourself you speak for everyone" and I knew I was on the right
path.
I was able to present my art project
and I could see that my poem did mean something to my fellow YTT's,
that they understood my fears, that my pain and uncertainty was also
their pain and uncertainty. These feelings of recognition made me
realize that yes, I was able to go so deep into myself that what came
out was universal. And perhaps this is what art is about. It is
rendering something that speaks to people on a deeper level. In that
sense, I was able to let go of my preconceived notion that I cannot
"do" art and I was able to come to peace with my own fears.