Emotional stability, deep relaxation, relief from stress, depression, anxiety and addiction. Certainly these are things we could all use more of, especially during this election season. Fortunately, they are accessible to us through the practice of yoga.
Through close to one dozen public and private enterprises, Durango’s yoga scene has exploded over the years. Though not the oldest, but the biggest studio with 40 classes per week, Yoga Durango is proud to be in the business of building a yoga community, and the health and wellness of its practitioners.
It is commemorating its 10th year by offering free classes and special events this weekend that will allow community members to explore mindfulness, stress-reduction, self-awareness and connection to others. Beginners are especially welcome.
Asana, the physical yoga practiced, is the third limb of yoga’s eight limbs as outlined in the Yoga Sutras collated by the Indian sage Patanjali 2,000 years ago. Not a religion, yoga is a science and philosophy of the mind, and a good habit to form at any age. It was designed to purify the body and build physical strength and stamina for meditation.
Hatha, Kundalini, Bhakti, Ashtanga, Iyengar, Bikram and more, there are many styles of yoga to explore. From the Sanskrit word “yuj” meaning to yoke or bind, yoga has been interpreted to mean “union” of the individual self with the universal self.
It is a path of awakening to the divinity within each of us. It is why yoga classes often end with the instructor placing their hands together at their heart, closing their eyes, bowing their head and saying, “Namaste.”
It is a gesture that recognizes the light within each of us, a divine spark we all possess and that serves as an act of gratitude that many yoga practitioners (teachers and students, alike) feel and follow in their practice on and off the mat.
In today’s polarized society, “Namaste” acknowledges the soul in one by the soul in another and is an important reminder that when we live from the heart we are all one.
The physical practice of yoga can help one attain strength and flexibility in the body and mind, and it can extend to helping with insomnia, arthritis, neck, shoulder and back pain, as well as emotional trauma.
Yoga is unique because it connects the movement of the body and the mind to our breath and brings us in greater alignment with ourselves and others around us.
Going strong at 29 years, Durango’s longest running studio is Kathy Curran’s 4 Corners Yoga. A student of B.K.S. Iyengar, Curran, who is in her 60s, knew his was a form of yoga with which she could age (sometimes more gracefully than others) that allowed her to be OK with life no matter what occurred.
Attaining “equanimity” is the term she uses to describe this state that means to meet all of life’s successes and failures, likes and dislikes, pains and pleasures equally. It reduces suffering and increases peace and joy. Starting this weekend, as we await election results, equanimity is a practice we would be wise to begin to adopt. Stop in at Yoga Durango or one of the other studios. Share in a practice and explore your mind and body through yoga. Then put its lessons to use no matter Tuesday’s outcome.
