Yoga is a powerful healing practice that can help you come into the present moment, calm your nervous system and inhabit your body more deeply. Rather than just being a form of physical exercise, it’s more a way of life, incorporating ethical living, breathwork, meditation and spirituality.
Definition of yoga
There are many different definitions of yoga in ancient texts like the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, and they include things like stilling your mind, enjoying the present moment, living with equilibrium and balance and ending suffering. The most well-known definition comes from the Yoga Sutras of Pattanjali which says that yoga is the stilling of the whirlpool of the mind so that we can gain clarity.
The literal translation of the word ‘yoga’ means to yoke, bind, join or attach, and early definitions of yoga talk about using yoga to join with a deity. Nowadays people from many different religions use yoga as a spiritual practice.
History of yoga
Yoga is an ancient practice believed to originate in the Indus Valley – between India, Pakistan and Afghanistan – between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago, but its origin is uncertain and disputed. The first mention of yoga was in the yoga Vedas during the Vedic period (around 1,500 to 500 BC), but the yoga we know today is almost unrecognisable compared to those ancient texts.
Yoga developed during the pre-classical era, with texts with the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, bringing in concepts like escaping from suffering, reincarnation and meditation. Then, during the classical period, came the Yoga Sutras of Pattanjali – this was the first text focussed on defining and standardising yoga practice and where the eight-limbed path of yoga originated.
Yoga evolved further during the post-classical era, with the development of the Tantras and Hatha yoga. Both used the body to reach enlightenment, where previously the body was seen as a hindrance to the practice of yoga.
Yoga asana (what we call the poses or postures of yoga) originally related to a ‘comfortable, steady seat’ for seated meditation practice. Nowadays, yoga asana relates to all sorts of positions, most of which aren’t seated. The yoga asana that we know today originated at the end of the 19th century and was brought to the west by Swami Vivikenanda at the 1893 Chicago World fair, and later by B.K.S. Iyengar and Pattabi Jois. It is thought to have originated from western gymnastics during British colonial rule of India.
Yoga continues to evolve today.
Fitness level
The yoga I teach isn’t yoga for fitness, flexibility or strength. Instead it uses gentle, mindful movements to help you become more present in your body, become aware of what your body needs and respect and honour your body’s boundaries. You don’t need to be fit, strong or flexible to take this class but if there are movements you find challenging, I usually offer alternatives or you can just sit that one out if needed. In everything, I advise you to notice pain and stop as soon as you feel it.
Equipment
You don’t need to buy any special equipment to practice yoga in the Shame-Free Community. If props are needed, it will always be things you have around the house, like a chair, cushions, blankets or even a wall.
You don’t need a yoga mat but it can help to have something soft underneath you if you have hard floors – something like a bath towel or blanket will do.
You don’t need special clothing to take part in the yoga classes. Just make sure you’re wearing something you can relax in. I prefer baggy or stretchy clothes to do yoga in. Please don’t feel you need to go out and buy specialist yoga clothes – I’m a yoga teacher and I don’t own any ‘yoga clothes’.
Yoga and shame
Yoga has been found in many studies to increase body satisfaction and improve self esteem. Where shame can cause us to disconnect from our bodies and ignore our needs, yoga has a powerful effect of bringing us back into our bodies, known as embodiment.
Sadly, western yoga often sets idealised standards for what a posture should look like in a person’s body – and sometimes even what the ideal body should look like. This can be very shaming and can reduce yoga’s benificial impact on shame. I deliberately teach yoga in a way that removes the shame and restores a sense of agency, creativity and discovery to the practice. I’ve written a blog post about my experiences of yoga and how it triggered my shame and here are some of the main points about how I teach in a shame-free way:
- Making the movements adaptable for people of all abilities and body types so that no one has to feel left out or as if their body is somehow ‘wrong’ for yoga.
- Making the focus of the class about what the postures feel like rather than what they look like. As long as a person is practicing in a safe way that doesn’t cause them pain and they can breathe normally and aren’t experiencing trauma symptoms then it doesn’t matter that they don’t look like everyone else in the same posture.
- Starting each practice with grounding techniques to help people connect with their bodies more easily.
- Cueing all variations as equal and not having a hierarchy of ways to do a pose.
- Giving lots of choices and the option to skip postures to help people honour their preferences and recognise their bodies’ needs in that moment.
- Being honest about my own preferences and struggles so that people know they have permission to make choices that suit them – not based on what other people would think.
- Using mindfulness and exploration to help people get to know their bodies better and what certain movements feel like in their bodies.
Yoga and trauma
There have been so many studies that show the benefits of yoga for people with trauma. These studies look at the effectiveness of a particular type of yoga – trauma sensitive yoga, which uses different teaching techniques to empower people with trauma and keep them safe. I’m not qualified to offer specific classes for people with trauma but I did learn how to teach in a trauma sensitive way during my yoga teacher training. This includes:
- Using invitational language – phrases like ‘you’re welcome to’ and ‘I invite you to’ – instead of telling people what to do.
- Giving choices and not trying to make people practice in a specific way.
- Using non-coercive language – avoiding phrases like ‘we will’ and ‘let’s’.
- Inviting people to be aware of their experience and not telling them how they should be feeling.
- Breaking down authority and sharing in the practice with my students.
- Giving people the option to come out of postures whenever they want to.
- Not playing music.
- Being aware of vulnerable shapes like happy baby and offering less triggering alternatives.