Yoga as a gateway drug

How a trip to the yoga studio left me flat on the floor, conscious and awake + why I think everyone should try it

What is written for you today was originally a case for what yoga is not. It was an attempt to debunk all the stereotypes.

Like it’s just for bendy skinny white ladies. Or it’s woo woo. Not for Christians, Muslims, Atheists and other religious backgrounds. It’s for the privileged in lululemon. Forget seniors, the neurodivergent, or those disabled. Skip if you can’t touch your toes or have mood disorders. May or may not include buff dudes, the full-bodied, asian, brown, black, indigenous. Socioeconomic status is a factor. Who you love or the gender you identify has nothing or everything to do with it. Cultural appropriation is not an issue. Neither is inclusivity.

Yoga can include all of this. Or it can include none of this. What matters is it doesn’t always have to matter. There is something for everyone because it’s a deeply personal practice.

Can I convince you to try yoga once? Correction, I ask you to dabble in it three times just to be sure. Mix it up, try a different teacher or class, of which there are so many in-person and online. For those of you who already practice or teach yoga, I hope this layman, rookie student point-of-view validates why you do it.

I’m new-ish to this rodeo and started following along on YouTube in 2020, then bridged to my local spot, Sage Yoga Studios at the end of last year. Whenever I show up, I observe my surroundings and who I practice with. I remember we all come to show up for ourselves, no matter who we are.

One of my teachers, Taina Rodriguez-Berardi, shared her definition of yoga.

“Yoga is technology for transformation.”

Taina Rodriguez-Berardi, a scholar-practitioner of yoga’s history, philosophy, traditions, and Sanskrit texts.

I’ve been mulling over her definition, this combination of words to describe such an archaic practice. There’s no apps or clouds or WiFi connections. But, like our devices, if handled with care, it’s a tool which can be used for growth and change.

In our dopamine indulgent world, yoga has given me hits of the pure stuff. Each time, energy is created. On a cellular level, blood flows, oxygen in my lungs, a few things stir in my brain, and I open myself to possibilities.

Yoga has helped me become physically stronger and slowly corrects two decades of being hunched over my keyboard and this addicting phone.

Practicing helped me notice what I say to myself, both on and off the mat. In class, I was reminded while in a particularly sticky position: “no judgment, just observe. This is exactly where you need to be right now.” Outside the studio, yoga is an RSVP to experience life for what it is.

For me, yoga has opened more pathways. It is an invitation to be in the exact moment I’m in, with the reminder of following my breath. Being present can be difficult. When I’m physically here, I’m often there or elsewhere or everywhere but here in the now.

Prior to the pandemic, restorative, slow flow and meditative classes were not as popular as they are now at the studio I go to, said the studio’s manager, Shelby Lewis.

My teachers, like Shelby, taught me the gift of slowing down and simply notice, a rarity in our modern, AI, instant-everything overstimulated typhoon of a life. The craving for steadiness is catching on.

What has been written for you today is not a case for what yoga is — for anyone else.

This is my own experience, a deeply personal one. Will you have one, too?

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Review and peruse these practitioners, resources, people I interact with, read, and learn from.

In-person

Yoga on the Bluff in Long Beach (in-person everyday at 11 am and for those who cannot make it in person, they can attend via Facebook live/online for classes). I’m in love with their mission statement and what they stand for. Must go some time this summer!

“Yogalution Movement and Wellness is a donation-based yoga studio and wellness center with a mission to make yoga accessible to ALL regardless of financial situation, socioeconomic status, race, religion, spiritual or non-spiritual beliefs, age or gender preference. Our goal is to provide tools and knowledge for health, well-being, and to allow for a balanced body, mind and spirit.”

Instagram

Taina Rodriguez-Berardi introduced me to Yoga on the Bluff and blew my mind with the aim to truly give all access to yoga; she wrote a thesis on the accessibility of modern yoga. She’s formerly from the PR world, an academic, and teaches today. She often explores history and origins of yoga, yoga and social change, all bodies/accessible yoga. Love this inclusive talk: “me and my students come in all shapes, sizes, ages, abilities, and constitutions that benefit from a wide variety of support systems, and I’ve always been a believer in listening to the needs of the body/mind/spirit complex over recreating the “ideal shape” — whatever that means.” Also this video and poetry is what you need to see and hear today.

Julie Woolf has been posting some great sequences, especially for those who are at home, short on time, or just want to know more about yoga.

Jazzie de Leon and I met at the San Francisco Writers Conference; we bonded over both being Filipina writers. In addition to being a corporate badass at an aerospace company in New Mexico, she’s a writer, practices yoga, posts digestible inspirational content, mixed with fun fashion posts.

YouTube

Here are a few YouTubers who I’ve followed and practiced with virtually.

Bharti Yoga has a good mix of different practices and challenges. She also has another channel for prenatal yoga.

Black Yogi Nico Marie has beautiful, accessible videos.

Yoga with Kassandra introduced me to the love of yoga during lockdowns.

Substack writers who practice/teach yoga

Ali Vingiano of Little Things hosted the most lovely group of people who wanted to follow the Artist’s Way together virtually. Ali is a TV writer (The Morning Show), producer (Comedy Central), and actor. She also hosts writing and yoga retreats! I’m sad to miss her Greece retreat but maybe one of you will join me on a retreat next year?

We Finished The Artist's Way. Here's What I Learned & Where We Go From Here.

Sue Ferrera is 67 and reminds us about being present and to notice the small things. She just started teaching yoga this year. I told you, yoga has no boundaries! Everyone, no matter their age, is allowed in the club!

Simple things

Billie Oh does a great mix of writing and yoga content on their substack, dumpster yoga (gotta love the name).

we do hard things on the mat so we can do hard things off the mat.

i love this phrase and the principle behind it. i love it in part, because like so many things in yoga, initially, i missed the point.

at first, my ego driven self wanted to take this phrase and apply it exclusively to cool or exciting hard things. like i should try to do crow pose in class so i can be brave and take on new challenges in my life outside of yoga.

it wasn’t until i started learning and training in yin yoga that i realized it also means practicing surrender. and acceptance. and stillness.

OFF THE MAT

Deenie Hartzog-Mislock wrote this amazing piece on The Class, where she dissects, gets real honest and raw about herself, as a mother, a creative, a perfectionist, and more. She says The Class is “like breathwork, yoga, meditative movement, and a HIIT class in one.”

What The Class Taught Me About Being Right

Jeannie Lynn recently explored how yoga is like natural peanut butter where the oil separates from the butter. She wrote, “I related the effects of stirring peanut butter in a jar to the effects of yoga in the body. In the practice, we move, breathe, build heat, and stretch. We come back to our ideal state by the final resting pose, śavāsana. We come back to ourselves. We come back to enjoyment, even if it took some work to get there.” Also, be sure to listen to Jeannie read her work aloud; she has a calming voice over sounds of chimes.

Natural Peanut Butter

Do you have yoga resources to share?

Why do you practice?

If you don’t, do you want to try it with me?