Smile You Are in a Yoga Class
Smile You Are in a Yoga Class
When I first came to France and went to
church I was sooooo disappointed. It was so grey and serious. I was used to the
Evagalistic churches of my youth, the gospel churches of Birmingham full of
singing, raised hands and joyful expressions ! Maybe a little extreme on
the fun side of religion but never the less my experience. My Dad used to refer
to them as the « Happy Clappers » and mocked me endlessly for my
Church outings but to me this was what religion and spirituality was
about ! Sadly I have never found that joy in the catholic churches I have
frequented – maybe I need to try again – but I am struck by a new phenomena
Yoga Classes can be the same kind of place !
I have been teaching yoga for a number of
years now and have been practising for even more and very often – like almost
every time – I see a raft of serious faces around me. It reminds me of the Catholic
Church. It is as if once you go through that yoga studio door and sit or roll
out your mat the yoga concentrated face has to appear and all the fun is
gone ! Why can’t the fun stay ?
When I first went to a Gospel Church in
Birmingham the priest said at the beginning of the service please leave the
aisles free for those who wish to dance. I was 13 years old and I thought YES I
have landed in my kind of church ! Very few people stayed seated during
the service. There were electric guitares, fabulous voices, raised hands and
the incredible ingredient of JOY ! For me this is what it should be like
to go to church – a veritable celebration of life. A joyful expression of
gratitude.
Now my first ever yoga class may well have
been tough and very sweaty as I was not at all good at it physically but even
then I laughed. In all honesty I find it
very difficult to stay serious in any environment but I am of the opinion – and
it is just mine of course – that a yoga class should be an expression of joy, a
celebration of life, what your body and mind can do, want to do. Yoga is of
course a discipline and a daily expression of harmony between breath, movement,
the splendid force of the earth and the beauty of the skies but discipline
doesn’t have to align with dull and sad. A discpline like going to church or
going to yoga class CAN and should be a joy, a beautiful gift you are offering
yourself. The very fact that you have found yourself in a yoga class probably
means that you are looking for something that is missing in your daily life.
You might just be seeking some physical release but there is a high chance that
you are looking to release some emotional shit too.
If you frown and tighten your jaw line what
happens to your face and your body. What messages are you sending to your
external and as such your internal being ? Try it. Frown, tighten you
face, be super serious for a moment and do a simple yoga pose like Tadasana
(standing straight) and lift your arms to the sky. Observe your body. Then
relax your face, smile, inhale and do the same thing lift your arms above your
head. I can guarantee it is NOT the same experience.
In the Yoga Sutras we are offered the
expression of Sthira Sukham Asanam – a posture should be stable, confortable
and joyful ! It is written there in black and white !
I still do not go to Catholic Mass – maybe I
should – but every day I recreate my own church of joy on my yoga mat. A huge
smile on my face and my body, mind and breath become an expression of the joy
of living during my yoga session. The whole experience becomes way more like a
Gospel Church on a simple external level but also on a visceral, vibrational
level.
So I invite you the next time you go to your
yoga class or roll out your mat at home before you even start your session take
a breath and SMILE for this is an incredible opportunity to enjoy the simple
fact that you are alive and have a right to smile your way joyfully through
your yoga practice !
Written by Charlotte Saint Jean a Yoga
Teacher in France, based in the Savoie mountains and the ski resort of Val
d’Isère, mama to two great daughters (www.yogicmummy.blogspot.com), founder of the french online yoga web site
www.yogachezmoi.com and creator of the Yoga Festival in Val
d’Isère (www.yoga-festival-valdisere.com)
Find Charlotte here……
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