Beyond asana: The case for an inner yoga

When I tell people what I do, that I teach yoga, people imagine stretching and movement. And indeed the poses are so useful to us in the west in countering our busy, often stressful lives. For many, the weekly yoga class is a precious opportunity to move the body, calm the mind, release tension, and come away feeling calmer, focused and relaxed.

However effective and enjoyable, the postures represent a fraction of the practice of yoga: the astanga yoga or eight limbs described by the great indian sage Patanjali over two thousand years ago. A complete practice includes breathwork, meditation techniques as well as honouring moral and ethical precepts. In short, a template for how we might live in the world, yoga becomes a lifestyle.

I undertook my final teacher training in India, studying one to one with my teacher. At our first session he observed me as I moved through a sequence of poses that by then had become comfortable and familiar. “No more bending” was his considered conclusion. He taught me the power and beauty of mantra, chanting ancient prayers in Sanskrit, deepened my knowledge of pranayama, breathing techniques and we meditated together daily, releasing the mind to become absorbed in an inner bliss. Later in my studies I added mudra, sacred hand gestures to refine and intensify other aspects of the practice.

I have felt increasingly moved to offer a yoga that combining pranayama, mantra and mudra. Thus enabling one to move from the external world to the internal; from the physical body to the subtle body, to become fully centred, surrendering deeply and becoming absorbed in the self.

We had the first class today and it was a subtle and powerful experience. Intimacy and sacred space were created as we sat together, student and teacher in a circle forming a mandala, the symbol of wholeness. The joy of this way of working is that each of us becomes responsible for our personal experience, there is neither a constant referencing of the teacher, nor a need to give adjustment or correction. In stillness and quiet we practiced with eyes closed and a focus on our private, internal experience.

Personally I felt deeply calmed and relaxed and this was reflected in the comments and feedback of the students. The class runs weekly throughout February and March at Shekinashram, Dod Lane Glastonbury.

Details here:
http://www.jivayoga.co.uk/pages/yoga/inner-yoga-classes.php