It’s easy to inspire students when yoga asanas (exercises) have names like Sleeping Swan and Twisted Dragon. Often when I show these asanas for the first time, I am met with gasps of ‘Oh no!’ However, ten minutes later my students are the smiliest, most adept Swans and Dragons imaginable. Naturally, I wouldn’t ask my students to attempt anything without a thorough warm up to strengthen core muscles and stretch the bones, and as yet haven’t had anyone hobble off with a bad back at the end of class so after a quarter century of teaching, all good.
One of things I love about yoga is that no matter how old or wrinkled we become, a well-trained yoga body keeps its firmness and agility. I’ve had ninety year olds in my classes who could put thirty year olds to shame. Not that yoga is about putting anyone to shame. It is not competitive like tennis. Yoga is about ‘you’ working with ‘you’ to better your practice. Yoga is about looking inwards. Yoga’s about blotting out the world and not comparing yourself to anyone else or what they’re doing.
