Yoga with a big ‘Y’

MAXINE COHEN

I just got home from a yoga class. The Yoga Place on the corner of

Newport and Harbor boulevards, where I’ve gone for many years, has

been bought by Yoga Works and has undergone an expansion and

face-lift.

The newest studio, which recently opened in Newport at 200 Newport

Center Drive, right above Kinko’s, is just gorgeous. It’s really

sleek and modern. Floor-to-ceiling windows allow for a beautiful view

of the ocean in one of the studios. It’s a pleasure to do yoga in.

Well, almost.

I went to a level-two class. That means that you know how to do

the ujjayi breath, how to position your body correctly in the poses

and can recognize many of the Sanskrit names for the poses. There are

two lower levels of practice that teach the basics.

This is yoga with a little “y,” to quote Judith Lasater. It’s

about asana. It’s about flowing from one pose to another,

coordinating the breath with the movement. It’s about flexibility and

core strength.

As I looked around the yoga room at my fellow students, my heart

sank. There was no way that three-quarters of these people knew what

they were doing. I hoped I was wrong, but as the class got underway

it was painfully obvious that I was right. Now that’s not a problem

in a level one or maybe even in a level one-two, although that would

be stretching it. But in a level two or higher, it’s inappropriate.

People who don’t know what they’re doing can injure themselves

because of the complexity and difficulty of the poses, and it’s

disrespectful to the other class members, not to mention to the

discipline itself. People seem to have the misconception that if

they’re strong from having worked out in the gym, then they’re ready

to tackle a more advanced yoga class. Not so.

OK. Enough. I’ll get off my soapbox now. But as you can tell, this

angers me.

Last weekend, I went up to Los Angeles to the Center for Yoga to

attend a workshop given by Judith Lasater. She is a longtime time

yogi, having practiced for 34 years. What I particularly like and

respect about her is that she teaches yoga with a big “Y,”

incorporating the philosophy and spirituality of the discipline along

with the asana practice.

She addresses the essence of yoga, which is about being present,

paying attention in this very moment and finding the spiritual in

everyday life by focusing inward in class as practice for the way to

live your life outside of the yoga room. She had much wisdom to

share. Much of it can be applied to me in my yoga practice this

morning.

She says that distraction is about being attracted by something

that you don’t want to be attracted by. No kidding. My attention was

attracted to the heavy breathing and the flopping around that passed

for asana. I didn’t want to pay attention to that, and had my drishti

(gaze) been sufficiently inward as it’s supposed to be, I wouldn’t

have been distracted. Guess I’m not there yet.

Judith also talks about being a big-enough container to hold your

dis-ease. To be at ease with your dis-ease. You are always going to

have thoughts and feelings such as anger, fear, sadness, but you are

neither the thought nor the feeling. You are that certain something,

call it spirit, essence, soul, that thinks the thought or has the

feeling. So, instead of saying, “I am angry,” try “I am having angry

feelings.” The problem is not that you have thoughts and feelings but

that you believe them. This is a way of actively dis-identifying with

them. You don’t need to control them, repress them or change them.

Just don’t dance with them anymore. You can be in control of them

rather than your thoughts and feelings being in control of you.

OK. OK. Correction here. This doesn’t make me mad; I have angry

feelings.

I did pretty good this morning. Not great, but pretty good. I was

not beside myself or jumping out of my skin. I was at ease for the

most part. Truth be told though, that was not all to my credit. It

was partially a result of the fact that there was plenty of room in

the class. Had we been all squished together, mats 6 inches apart, I

would have found it much harder to be at ease with my dis-ease.

As I was leaving, I bumped into a yoga friend who was just

arriving. She asked how the class was. Not wanting to get into it, I

simply said “fine.” Like Jiminy Cricket on my shoulder, I heard

Judith’s voice, “Fine is another ‘F’- word.” Possibly a little harsh,

but mostly I agree. Fine conveys nothing. It’s bland and

noncommittal. In my book, I suppose it’s better than “fabulous” or

“terrific,” which I never believe anyway, but of course, the class

wasn’t fine, and I wasn’t fine with it.

So there you have it.

Here are a couple more of Judith’s pearls of wisdom with my 2

cents added, of course:

* Unasked-for advice is criticism. When someone offers their

opinion without being asked, 99% of the time it is to tell you how

they think you should be different. That is critical, by definition.

That’s why it feels so bad.

* Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from

bad judgment. We all have to make mistakes to learn. There is no

other way. Compassion would help -- for yourself and others.

* The key to shopping is knowing what you don’t want. Not this.

Not this. Oh yes, this.

* Anger is a strategy for getting primary needs met. Mostly, it’s

the need to be cared for in one way or another. See me. Comfort me.

Anger doesn’t work though. It just pushes people away when you need

them the most. (More about this is another column.)

* Worrying is praying for what you don’t want to happen. We make

things happen in our life by paying attention to them. What we pay

attention to grows. Worry is a way of paying negative attention,

focusing on the things you are afraid of, and that is not what you

want more of.

* Words reflect thoughts. Thoughts reflect beliefs. Beliefs run

your life.

Food for thought surely.

* MAXINE COHEN is a Corona del Mar resident and a marriage and

family therapist practicing in Newport Beach, whose columns will

appear regularly. She can be reached at [email protected] or

(949) 644-6435.