Twists
Although I have done some yoga on and off since I was in school, I recently got back into it quite seriously, determined to explore the practice with a view to improving my concentration and strength. The usual buzzwords. Mindfulness. Calm and focus. Strength and flexibility. Overall health, instead of the continuous (and always losing) battle with the bulge. Although I do go to the gym irregularly to run, swim and lift weights and feel good about it afterwards, the main struggle always has been to actually get myself there. Quite simply, the repetitive exercise bores me very quickly, no matter how many upbeat songs I burn on to the Ipod, and before I know it I’m back at home, mindlessly knitting and munching something as I watch the next DVD of Poirot or Law & Order. Mmmmmmmm.
The only thing that makes me go back without bitching and moaning, it turns out, is a yoga class - and I recently decided that I should really give it another shot. Once again, I have the usual buzzwords to describe how I feel - more energetic, more positive, strong, focused, with the joy of breathing and the calm of concentration. So when my teacher mentioned a yoga retreat right during my spring break not far from here, I jumped at it as a chance to “deepen my practice.” I had no idea what to expect, other than a hope that this would not be a spa with some contortions and new-agey conversations sprinkled in for variety.
I have to admit that the luxurious surroundings (it wasn’t Bali or the Bahamas, where many of these retreats are apparently held nowadays, but still!) and the whole sense of well-heeled sociality that pervaded the place left me a little unsettled, but overall, it was a tremendous experience. One of the emphases was on improving concentration, and it is hard to describe that feeling of absolute stillness and awareness I felt during one meditation session as I found a rhythm of breathing I could work with. It was a glimpse into the kind of concentration one can strive towards, like the last stages of writing a paper, when it all seems to come together and all that matters is making sure my fingers keep pace with my thoughts - intense bursts of productivity, alas all too rare. The other emphasis was on technique, especially in inversions and backbends, and I shall never forget the exact moment when my feet gently left the ground in a headstand and I felt progressively lighter, and lighter, and lighter. I squealed in delight and fell right back, but that momentary feeling of balance and lightness was wonderful.
There is much about the contemporary ‘consumption’ of yoga that I find interesting as well as disturbing. There’s the ‘branding’ into ever more fashionable styles and lifestyles in different parts of the world. There’s also the consumption of yoga as national heritage, of late with a renewed fervour, amongst the new Indian middle classes. The casual, Orientalising discussions of yoga as a timeless, ancient spiritual practice, set alongside its importance as a sign of regenerative nationalism and anti-colonial masculinity, make it difficult to simplistically label this as ‘tradition.’ It is something I have been generally familiar with for a long time, but its long history, evolution and depth I hardly know academically, let alone organically; after all, not only do age-old practices like yoga have a social and intellectual history embedded in politics over the centuries, but they were also reframed and redeployed as part of a modern Indian nationalist politics. Its invocations continue to be political in the broadest sense, whether in India or elsewhere.
In trying to learn more about it, I find myself continuously turning the historical or ethnographic lens on myself and those around me. The urge to historicize sometimes collides, and sometimes colludes, with the urge to deepen my learning through actual practice, but perhaps, to use yet another buzzword, this will keep me grounded. In the months to come I might use this space to explore some more of these engagements and thoughts. What are your thoughts and experiences with a yoga practice? Care to comment?
Last but not least, thank you all so much for the wonderful feedback on the Cobblestone-Wallaby hybrid; I have worn it almost incessantly since last weekend!
PS: That Currer picture right at the top? I’m not feeling the love for the pattern; alas, it’s probably headed for the slaughterhouse.
PPS: I knit most of that Regia sock at the retreat - look at those calm, even stitches!
PPPS: The new project is the Wicked vest from the Classic Elite free web-letter; the yarn is Elsebeth Lavold in Sandstone.