A Yoga-Newbie Autobiography

Jinxson is doing a spinal twist.

     My first foray into yoga began in the mid-70s. I'm sure my oldest sister tried it. I followed in her steps closely back then. During that time I bought a book, Yoga for Personal Living by Richard L. Hittleman 1. I don't remember doing much of what was in the book. [I recently (2007) rediscovered this paperback book on a shelf in the basement of the old homestead while sprucing up the house to sell. I put it in my "To Save" box and promptly forgot about it.]

     So jumping about 30 YEARS forward to about 2003 I enrolled in a PiYo class at our local YMCA. This was a combination of Pilates and yoga. It was taught by a kind and humble instructor and I attended with two friends. We all enjoyed the class immensely and appreciated the intense but low-impact exercise. There was an emphasis on breathing but nothing I remember as being important. I remember the instructor wanted to hear us breathe. But with shrinking class sizes the Y was no longer able to offer it to us mothers-of-young-children-who-had-time-to-attend-during-the-Y-babysitting-hour.

My mother's hands and arms

One of my friends mentioned above will be the one who finally gets me to my first yoga class and this will be discussed further down. To keep things chronologically straight and why yoga has such importance to me we need to move on to September 2004 and a very personal revelation; This was when I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. This was quite devastating news as my mother had battled RA since she was thirty-six. It had severely disabled and crippled her. In Sept. 2004 she was fighting for her life after heart valve replacement surgery 5 months earlier at age 76. In October [2004] I was expecting a much-desired second child. My mother's RA always went into remission during a pregnancy so I looked forward to breezing through the next eight months with a respite from painful joints. I signed up for an aerobics class. But my RA was not going away and I had to sneak in with the Silver Sneakers (Senior Citizen) aerobics when the motions and movements became impossible because of stiffness. When that proved too difficult I dove into water aerobics. [It's amazing-the lovely people you meet at these classes.] During my 6th month of pregnancy I'd reached my limit. I had Baker's cysts in both knees and was losing the ability to walk. I couldn't pick up my 3 year-old because of my stiff and painful wrists. Something had to change. My rheumatologist assured me prednisone would be safe to take. Those little pills were miraculous as my symptoms dissolved almost as soon as the pill was digested. I delivered a healthy son in July of 2005. By September my RA returned with gusto and after trial and error we found a combination of medicines that have kept my RA at bay ever since. [My rheumatologist does not like to use the word "remission."] I mention this because while drugs have kept my RA/lab work well-managed yoga has also kept me more flexible and energetic than a lot of folks my age.

     Being healthy in 2009 I was ready to try a yoga class when my friend from the PiYo class enrolled at our town's satellite college and saw a notice for a yoga class for students, faculty and community members. I joined her (and her mother) for this one-hour, once-a-week revitalization session. This instructor, Libby, tailored the class for all levels of yogis. She was encouraging, had a very calming voice and laughed easily making the class a very welcoming place. I only did yoga once a week and never considered doing it more often. Then several unrelated things coincided.

     First, my husband bought a TV that was internet ready. It had something called  "Yoga Instructor" on it. I had just enough room for my yoga mat in front of the monster screen. The best part about it was the music selection. I felt the "Instructor" held the poses WAY to long for me. Second, my sister-in-law bought us a subscription to "Prevention" magazine. One of the early issues that arrived featured a yoga sequence that was supposed to suppress your appetite. [I have a copy of those pages but can't find or remember which issue/date it was found in.] I found this sequence didn't necessarily suppress my hunger but it did give me more energy.  Third, I finally understood and felt the importance of breathing (prana/pranayama). It wasn't something gradual, just one day something clicked and I wasn't just working on a pose; it was something more. And it was these three seemingly unrelated events that put me on the path of practicing yoga daily.

     It was a year ago while in savasana (Corpse Pose) at home when it occurred to me I was thinking to myself as if I was talking to a class. [I was an elementary school teacher for 11 years before I had children so that kind of thinking was not extra-ordinary.] Thereafter, though, I noticed while doing poses I'm thinking how I would explain them to others. Believing I was experiencing a gentle push towards becoming a yoga instructor I approached my one-day-a-week instructor about becoming her yoga apprentice. Libby was very welcoming to the idea. I wasn't sure what that would entail more than direction and advice. I wish I could take her class more often, [I did on Thursday mornings, but, like the Y-classes, such small attendance doesn't make it worthwhile for the instructor.] My husband works late at least 3 evenings a week so evening classes are not happening. So, I bought two books: Teaching Yoga Essential Foundations and Techniques by Mark Stephens and The Key Poses of Yoga by Ray Long. The first book has been fantastic for understanding the history of yoga and it's beliefs and modern additions as well as poses and teaching tips. It was in this book I recognized my own moral beliefs being mirrored [Stephens p. 6-13]. The other book is to satisfy my own fascination with the anatomy of the human body and what bones and muscles are being affected in poses. In effect I am trying to "school" myself on yoga. 


     Yoga Journal magazine and yogajournal.com are two additional resources that I'm using to understand and practice yoga. There are some fantastic videos at yogajournal.com. Not as lovely as doing them with a group, in my opinion, but quite nice for finding alternative sequences that focus on the different parts of the body. 


I just spent a lot of space to make this point; yoga will become relevant when you are ready for it to become spiritually, mentally and physically relevant. It may take years, like for me, but when it does becoming a positive presence in this existence is foremost.


UPCOMING POST TOPICS not in any particular order:
Samadhi/Bliss and my own personal experiences
Can Ayn Rand have anything to do with yoga?
Yoga Music
Favorite poses/sequences
Richard Hittleman's prophetic writing on nutrition in the early 70s
Charles Barkley on Conan and Bikram Yoga
Religion and Yoga
Yoga Journal Articles
Yogajournal.com videos
male instructors vs. female instructors
Yoga Humor
How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body- NY Times Article