Amanda Ramcharitar Yoga

When practicing Yoga after many years some may wonder, why am i doing Yoga?  In the beginning, Yoga has a mystical quality that seems to lure many people towards it.  Maybe the idea of levitation, or just feeling good draws you in.  I know i came to Yoga because I just had a feeling that a subject that was so often mentioned to bring health in body & mind had to be explored.  But now as i practice and explore there are those days when i just don’t feel like doing Sirsana or Uttitha Trikonasana.  Yesterday though i stumbled on a beautiful lecture given by Geeta Iyengar.  In this lecture she amazingly addressed many of the questions i was facing, being a practitioner for many years and coming up to the obstacle of why am i doing Yoga?  The incredible thing that inspired me was that she said every time you step into your practice you experience a different consciousness that can be only akin to being wide AWAKE.

I thought, wow its true! I do feel absolutely awake when i perform Asana, not just those shocking wake up accidents or bursts of adrenaline you get from catching a wave or the alluring “being mindful in the present”, but truly here on my mat noticing my toes, my inner ankle and those parts of the body that take you into the inner glimpse of that amazing energy coursing through the entire body that vibrates outwardly from the centre.  That centre, the source, that my mind is not always privy too, the one which makes me take a breath without me saying so and keeps my heart beating.

This is what keeps continuously drawing me back to the mat and discovering so many aspects of life i never knew existed.   It is this mystery in Yoga that slowly reveals itself as time progresses.  There is not a lot of times that we get a chance to experience this awakened state of being, but its beautiful to know that all i have to do is step on my magic mat and their Yoga awaits, with open doors into the another conscience state of being.

Its times like these i am humbly brought back to the practice and thank the universe and Yoga for guiding my actions just to the exact inspiration needed for the moment to answer the question, why i’m doing what i’m doing…

For more info on Geeta Iyengar please look for her brilliant book “Yoga: A Gem for Women”

Also you can see her in person when she visits South Africa in Johannesburg this month!  If you can find a talk with her online, it is well worth a watch.