Humanistic Yoga
A contemporary approach to yoga.
Humanistic course starts April 2008. See forthcoming events.
Yoga has a long and varied history, many of its ideas are embedded in the Hindu culture in which it developed. In modern western societies a sifting of the cultural from the practical can be useful. If we take away the ritualistic and mystical aspects of yoga, what is left is a very helpful practice of integration, of mind, body and breath. A humanistic approach to yoga emphasises the importance of this process, without recourse to supernatural or metaphysical ideas.
How might this work? In the first instance, we must consider if we are interested in integration, a preceding process of dis-integration must have taken place, otherwise the need for integration would not exist. There are three likely causes of this, trauma or physical injury, maintained repetitive tasks, (sitting at desks all day) and probably most importantly, repeated long term emotional stress, especially in early childhood. What can happen when any of the above occur, is habituation of muscular patterns, and the consequence of this is that we loose responsive choice in life’s various situations. We start to move or behave in a habituated way which may not be the best way. In the body this will lead to pain and discomfort in the muscles and joints, and psychologically it may lead to emotional pain and discomfort.
The route out of this bind is to find ways to notice how we move an act, because of course habitual activity whether physical or emotional has moved off our radar and we no longer really sense what we are doing. In Yoga through attentive practice we can start to put the pieces back together again. In doing so we start to make the crucial observation of the relational nature of mind, body and breath within our individuality, but perhaps just as significantly, that our emotional health depends on the relational nature between ourselves and other people.
