Cleanse your Karma

The year 2000 finally has taken the stage, but is there really a show to be seen? For decades we've equated the mythical year 2000 with spaceships, robots, fountains of youth and cures to diseases. A high-tech utopia full of hope, visions and answers to the questions that confused us throughout the past millennium. But is there anything to really be excited about? Are there any spaceships to take us to the moon? Any fountains of youth?Yoga involves linking various stretches or postures with breathing, thus, quieting the mind via the soothing sounds of the inhales and exhales.by David Romanelli

Actually there was a rumor stirring toward the end of the '90s--a rumor for the ages. Humans actually have found a means by which to lose weight, cure stress and slow down time itself while making life an immensely more enjoyable experience. Best of all, it's all wrapped into one answer. Why haven't you heard about this miracle cure on the cover of Time magazine? Why hasn't Peter Jennings broken this news as opposed to some random writer in SunWellness magazine? The answer lies in the fact that the story didn't break overnight. It's a story that has evolved over the course of 6,000 years. It's the story of the ancient practice of yoga.You've heard about yoga--it's trendy, it's cool and it's hip. Madonna loves yoga, Sting loves yoga, L.A. loves yoga. Okay, but these people are different and L.A. is different. So what's the big deal?

To put it simply, yoga is an instant cure for stress, anxiety and a lack of presence. Other forms of exercise offer solutions over the course of several months, but after one yoga class, a student will feel refreshed as if he or she just had a full night's sleep. And instant gratification is just what the modern-day American demands from their computer, cell phone and exercise experience. Granted yoga is the antithesis of fast-paced technology, but ironically, they both offer immediate results.

Yoga involves linking various stretches or postures with breathing, thus, quieting the mind via the soothing sounds of the inhales and exhales. Just try it by breathing out loud for 10 breaths and watch your mind start to relax. Then imagine breathing consciously for 90 minutes, the length of most yoga classes. Breathing is the absolute priority in yoga; flexibility is not a prerequisite. I repeat, flexibility is not a prerequisite. The goal of yoga is not being able to wrap your legs around your head; the goal is to learn to maintain the breathing throughout the postures.

Some classes such as "Power Yoga" or "Bikram Yoga" will incorporate challenging postures where students will experience quite the "workout." But despite the fact that students in these classes will sweat bullets, (and lots of them) the priority is always the breathing.

If one can maintain a focused, conscious breath throughout these challenging positions, one will learn to maintain calmness on the inside no matter what's happening on the outside. And that's the key.

Yoga is pertinent to our stressed-out society. Just think of all the little things that rattle your nerves in an average day. Your lover pushes all the wrong buttons before you even leave to go to work. Then someone cuts you off in traffic. You've got a problem with your transmission and you don't have room in your monthly budget to fix it. You get to work and right away your boss lays into you about not being on time and not working hard enough and not giving 110 percent to the company ... All this happens before lunch.

Stress takes its toll, and not just on our minds. We immediately translate stress as a headache or tightness in the head and palpitations in the heart. But stress leaks from our mind and into our body settling into the muscles and joints in the form of tension. Over time, that tension mounts, arteries clog, hamstrings tighten and hips lock. Before long, mobility is out of the question, and our body becomes nothing more than an incarceration of the spirit.

All too often, we see the body as a pit of stress entwined in tension. It doesn't have to be this way. The yoga postures allow a student to untangle the tightness in the hamstrings; to slowly but surely unlock the hips; to lower blood pressure and allow blood to flow more freely through the arteries. And soon thereafter, the student recognizes that one's very own body can, in fact, become a place to go inside and find some peace and quiet.

Yoga was created 6,000 years ago to enable people to meditate for long periods of time. To many, meditation is a far-fetched concept. It's definitely not easy, but that's the purpose of yoga. Yoga is "meditation in motion." Every posture presents an opportunity to breathe, to focus on the body, to stay calm in challenging situations such that at the end of class when a student is in a simple seated position, meditation is suddenly a piece of cake. Even if one had problems staying calm in warrior pose, crescent pose or half moon pose (some of the basic yoga postures), staying calm in a comfortable, seated position is something for everyone. And the goal of yoga is really this simple: learning to stay calm through life's challenging moments. However, choosing the right class for you is not a simple task. It really takes some trial and error. There are many styles of yoga being taught around the country. Yoga can be broken down into two main categories--Hatha Yoga and Iyengar. Hatha yoga incorporates more of a flowing movement through the postures. Oftentimes, students will be seen sweating in Hatha yoga classes such as "Power Yoga" or "Ashtanga." But your local yoga studio is sure to offer beginner Hatha classes that will take you through some of the fundamental postures. Hatha yoga is best suited for those who are looking to break a sweat and get some sense of a "workout."

Iyengar yoga focuses on the alignment of the body. An Iyengar teacher is more apt to work deeper into one's muscles and joints as opposed to creating the "flow." Iyengar is best suited to those looking to yoga to provide relaxation, rehabilitation and a better understanding of the specifics of the body. One could go on and on explaining the various styles of yoga, but one will never really know what kind of class or teacher they will enjoy until they give yoga a chance.

That's usually the first hurdle: finding the courage to see beyond yoga's stereotype as a form of exercise for "lost-soul, pseudo-spiritual freaks." And as this past millennium fades into yesteryear, it seems to be dragging away the shroud once covering yoga's amazingly simple yet powerful secrets. The year 2000 sheds a bright light on yoga as a mainstream part of the American culture.

One such example is taking place in Arizona. With two studios in Phoenix and Scottsdale, At One Yoga is creating beautiful, modern spaces that are more than just yoga studios.

"We try to explain to our students that the practice of yoga really begins when you put your mat away," says Ian Lopatin, co-founder of the studios. "It's not just about the postures. Yoga is a way of life and we try to impress that upon our students by creating our studios as physical environments that reflect the essence of yoga: harmony, balance and appreciation."

These studios incorporate various feng shui techniques, including fountains whose "flowing" sounds relax students before they enter the practice space; curved walls which allow for a smoother flow of chi (energy) in and around the studio; and specific lighting techniques that inspire a calm mind, thus enabling a student to more easily explore the body amid the postures.

So as we begin this next millennium, people probably will not be floating through spaceships as they check out the surface of the moon. But it's very likely that more and more people will float out of an awesome 90-minute yoga class and spend some time amid the fountains while reading up on the latest internet gadgets. Malls in the '80s, coffee shops in the '90s and yoga studios in the '00s. Does it sound crazy? Not as crazy as vacationing on the moon. And that's what they said we'd be doing in the year 2000.

For more information on Yoga training or developing your own practice, join some of the most recognized Yoga instructors at Yoga Vision 2000. The conference will be held March 10-12 at the Arizona State University Student Recreation Complex in Tempe, Ariz. To find out more call (480) 736-8818 or log on to www.publicasu.edu/martensj.

David Romanelli is a Hatha Yoga instructor and writer.