everyday yoga for the everyday man

Have you heard the one about the rabbi, a priest, and an atheist walking into a yoga studio? I have.  It’s no joke, and happens all of the time. Yoga is a practice of many things—movement, balance, observation, breath— but yoga is not a religion. Anyone can practice yoga. In one class, you will commonly find people of all beliefs—Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Agnostics—practicing next to each other.  Like many other experiences, yoga is very unique to the individual as much as it is to the community practicing together.

Often, classes can start with chanting and/or some talking about yogic philosophy (see also CHANTING). Take it or leave it. You shouldn’t feel forced to do anything you aren’t comfortable doing. Yoga is a simple action to which people attach their own meaning.  Before you make any decisions, try it first and make an informed decision from personal experience for yourself.

Short answer: As much as you’d like
Boom. Go get em’, tiger.

Longer answer: Unlike high impact exercises like running, yoga is a low-impact physical practice. Heck, it’s no impact unless you fall while trying to stand on one foot. This means there is little direct stress on your joints or bones from repetitive impact. Depending on the type of practice you have, you can practice every day.  I know plenty of yogis who do.

Since yoga is very much about listening to the body, it’s important you are honest with what you hear. There is nothing wrong with going to class a few times a week. If it makes you feel good, do it. I can’t hammer down the bottom line enough here: Just Do Yoga. You can still run. You can still lift weights. You can still rack up 8 hours on x-box live, if that’s your thing.

I’d like to add another thing about honestly listening to the body. Yoga is wonderful, but if you are feeling a strange type of soreness, a lot of pressure on any part of your body in a certain posture, or any uncomfortable sensation for a long period of time, doesn’t be afraid to ask for help or more information. Often, all it takes is a little adjustment or realignment to make a world of difference.  Practice accurate self-assessment, and be sure to talk your teacher or ask us here at AJ.  We’re all here to help, you know.

‘So, lemme get this straight… you want me to sit cross-legged in a sweaty room, listen to soft music while moving like I’m dancing underwater, and to top it all off, I’ve got to sing? Where do I sign up?’

Sometimes, it feels almost as if yoga was designed specifically to make men feel as uncomfortable as possible. It’s hard enough that we aren’t as flexible as all those women wearing the colorful clothing on the other mats. For many guys, being asked to chant or sing can be more intimidating than attempting to gingerly place our legs behind our heads.

Even if you don’t join in, chanting can be a great way to bring the body and mind into harmony before, during, or after the practice. Chanting sharpens the mind by giving it something to focus on, cutting out the external clutter of a hectic environment. Additionally, it serves to bring a group of yogis practicing together into harmony—not just through sound, but through action and vibration.

Yes, this is one of those things specific to yoga that you either enjoy or don’t.  The most important thing to remember is that you don’t have to join in if you don’t want to. Listening to the sound can be just as powerful as contributing to it. Since most traditional yogic mantra is based in Sanskrit, the meaning is said to be universally understood, no matter the tune or pronunciation. Thankfully, most yoga teachers who include chanting in their class do so in a call-and-response format, so just listen in until you know what to do and join in when ready.

Different mantras mean different things. The most common and important one is a layup—OM (or AUM, depending on who you talk to or what you read). You’ve most likely seen an OM emblazoned on a yoga mat, a t-shirt, the backpack of someone going to a phish concert, or tattooed on someone’s back at the beach. OM represents the collective connection between all things in existence—it is the sound of universal vibration. For the record, that’s a good thing. Why not take a few moments to appreciate that?

I’ll let you in a on a little secret.
Come a little closer.
You ready?

Not everyone who does yoga is a vegan Buddhist monk.

Can you eat meat /smoke cigarettes/drink alcohol and do yoga? Absolutely. Can you do these things while doing yoga? You sure can. Should you? Probably not.

You can talk to one hundred different yoga instructors and hear as many different answers. It all depends on how you view the practice.  Far be it from me—a guy who, if given the choice, would choose a bacon & blue cheese burger as a new flavor of air freshener—to tell anyone that they should not eat meat. It would be extremely hypocritical if I—a man who has worked a bar from every angle: behind, in front, on top, and below—were to point a shameful finger at someone going for a drink after class. You’re a big boy, and big boys make their own choices.

Whatever vice or habit or tendency you possess which you think prevents you from committing to the practice is completely your own decision.  At first, the only thing we here at average joga are going to say is DO YOGA. Whatever gets you on that mat—be it once a day, a week, month, or year—do it.

Yoga is sneaky in a beautiful way. The more you do, the better you feel. The better you feel, the more you want to learn. The more you learn, the deeper your practice becomes. Sooner or later, you’ll learn more about the history and philosophy of yoga, particularly the Yamas and the Niyamas, and even more particularly: ahimsa.

Ahimsa is the practice of non-violence. This is as straightforward as it sounds, and also a lot more complex than you think. Not only does it pertain to not hurting other beings, but it also includes being kind to yourself.  It doesn’t only deal with physical violence, but also mental and spiritual abuse.  Ahimsa can be applied in numerous ways, with such guidelines ‘don’t shake a baby’ to ‘don’t kill living beings’ to ‘not calling someone a jerk because they just cut you off on the highway going 90mph while talking on their cell phone, most likely to some other jerk about something completely stupid’.  When starting to practice ahimsa universally, one tends to take a lot of deep breaths.

How does ahmisa apply to anything you might perceive as a ‘non-yogic’ habit? If an action you perform doesn’t serve you—that is, if it doesn’t positively support you in a non-violent way—then this action is intrinsically violent itself. For example, you smoke cigarettes. You’ve smoked them for years. We all know cigarettes aren’t good for you, yet you still do. This act is violent to yourself. Another example—you eat red meat. Where does that meat come from? An animal that most likely didn’t donate that flesh for human consumption. Essentially, eating meat is an act of violence.

Or is it? Depending on the diet, the person, the body, eating red meat is a valuable source of protein, among other beneficial things. Yes, you can get these nutrients somewhere else, but you like meat. This line of thought can spiral on infinitely. The bottom line is that one needs to clearly define their own understanding of what ahimsa is and how it applies to their own lives. Yoga is not a surefire, instantaneous cure for any affliction, but a vehicle for self-awareness and wellness. It’s not the destination, but a steady path towards the goal.

You want to eat meat? Eat meat. How about enjoying that hangar steak with a fine, cask aged scotch? Don’t forget to light up one of those hand-wrapped cohibas your friend brought back from Cuba. Right now, my only suggestion to you is that you wait until after class to indulge in your bacchanalia. Also, take a few deep breaths before you tuck in and think about how what you’re about to do will serve you. If you commit to do something, enjoy it fully and be present throughout. This is how yoga is best practiced, and this is how it can be applied to everything in life.