Yoga Finding Your Peace

8/8/2019 Yoga Finding Your Peace

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120 H i g H C o u n t r y M a g a z i n e August 2009 August 2009 H i g H C o u n t r y M a g a z i n

StoryandPho

tography

byToddBush

Finding

Peace(

Your)

Yoga is peace of mind, body and spirit. Its uni-

versal appeal offers many benefits. You may

ask, Why would I want to explore yoga? Initially

it may be to become more flexibleto be healthier, to

take your mind away from worries. Yoga can be those

things, but also something moreor maybe something

less. Practicing yoga is a truly effective way to unwind, re-

lax and yet be super-conscious of everything and nothing at

once. In those sweet moments, obstacles to peace vanish.Often considered merely an exercise option, yoga itself

is more a state of calmthough the term yoga can refer to

the actual routine, concept of union or both. Originating in

India thousands of years ago, Yoga systems may appear foreign,

yet parallels exist between its practices and our daily lives. Just

as some people are more physical, mental, devotional, do good

deeds or combinations thereof, the classical systems of yoga re-

flect and focus on one, some or all of our best temperaments and

tendencies.

Yoga instructor Valerie

Midgett lends her

skilled hands to Lesley

Hudson, graceully

perorming the

Inclined Plane yoga

pose at Neighborhood

Yoga in Boone.


2/5


Why did you build Neighborhood

Yoga in Boone?My hope was that if I built it that

they would come. They have come

and that has been great. I feel that

if people want to find us they will

find us. It was less about building

a studio and more about building

community.

How did you get into yoga?What brought me into yogawhat brings a lot of people into

yogawas the physical part. It

was a great balance for some of

the other physical things I was doing

like dance. It wasnt until years into

the practice I realized there was so

much more to yoga than the physical

benefits. And thats when it opened

up a whole new world to me. That is

the road that keeps me coming back to

yoga again and again and will keep me

in yoga as a lifelong practice.

Of course I still love the physical. Im a

very physical person and that part appeals

to meall the postures. It was not until later

that I found out there was this whole other

world of emotional, spiritual, ethical aspects

that are all yoga. What Ive found over the yearsis that what I learn on my mat during my asana

(postures) practice, whether it be compassion,

whether it be non-judgment, acceptance, all of

the things that I explore and lea rn from my yoga

practice I can apply to the rest of my life. So that

it is not just this self-serving practice for me but

one that affects everybody around me as well.

What it allows me to do is take my yoga off

the mat. Through my asana practice I can hone

in on those things. I can practice mindfulness,

and then from there I can take that into the world.

Rather than react to the world emotionally, in-

stead I can act with mindfulness and integrity.

And that is what my yoga practice has brought

me. That is what is most dear to me.

To me, everything is yoga. Everything is yoga!

It is that idea of union. So I think that in every

aspect of our life we can learn through yoga.

Whether that union is with your own body, your

mind, your breath or with your inner self, the di-

vine self. Whatever it is, it is all yoga. I think it

just teaches us a lot of these lessons.

What about options for seniors?We had a 95-year-old woman in class re-

cently and she was my inspiration as a teach-

er. Her daughter brought her here. As far as

someone coming here who is 80 years old, I

would send them not to the basic class be-

cause basic does not necessarily mean ge

I would suggest that they go to the gentle c

The gentle class can be for anybody. It ca

for an octogenarian, it can be for somebody

is recovering from an injury, somebody who

just experienced childbirth or maybe just so

one with a very limited range of motion. It is

just for the elderly. But there is a difference

tween basic and gentle. In basic we really

time to break down very specific alignmen

individuals within the postures. Not that we

not doing that in gentle but were taking a d

ent approach and emphasis.

I would also like to address our teacher-

ing program. Some individuals go throug

nine-month training specifically to teach,

others are more interested in deepening

own practice and experiencing some of the

er aspects of yoga including the philosop

and spiritual aspects.

Those teachers are now going out into

community and taking yoga way beyond the

ting of the studio. They are teaching at pla

like Watauga Youth Network, Crossnore Sc

OASIS, the pubic schools, Hospitality Ho

with breast cancer patients, pulmonary pat

and in the Latino and Hispanic community

beyond. They are teaching in all different asp

of the community. That of course really re

the studio in such a positive light and demstrates where yoga can take people. There

yoga class and teacher out there for anyone

keeps an open mind about it. Youre neve

old or too young. Our youngest students her

newborns or actually not even born yet. W

pre-natal and mama-baby yoga.

We are also part of a nonprofit chapter c

Karma Krew. We go out into the community e

month. We take yoga into the community an

a service project with a particular organiza

So we have been to the community gard

we have been up to Beech Mountain to Gen

Wildlife, up to Elk Knob doing trail maintena

weve been to OASISthe list goes on an

That is part of our community service projec

In addition to about 15 classes a week in

ous levels and styles of yoga, we also do a

nual yoga retreat, this year in Maya Tulum, Me

from November 21 to 28.

Is there anything you would like to s

about yoga in general?I would like to leave you with a quote from

of my teachers teachers, Swami Satchidana

Yoga is not about how flexible or how st

you are, but instead its about having an ea

body, peaceful mind and useful life.

Namaste.

Most styles of yoga taught in the West are derived from

Hatha Yoga, which helps practicioners develop control

over physical and physiological states through specific poses

called asanas, or breathing and relaxation techniques. This

is the yoga we usually hear about. Hatha is a Sanskrit word,

translated sun-moon, that means balance. Sanskrit is the an-

cient Indian language of yoga and its teachings, but learning

or using the Sanskrit terms is not required or, in many yogaclasses, not even used.

Yogas compatibility with modern day-to-day life recently

dawned close to home. I asked my father Nick how he was do-

ing and what hed been up to. He told me of his yard work, of

his and Moms exercise class at t he YMCA and of his new yoga

class. He wants to stay healthy, be relaxed, pain-free and main-

tain flexibility. He found a yoga-for-seniors class near his home

and attends when he can. Now thats inspirational, considering

he began yoga just prior to tur ning 80.

Throughout human existence, one could nearly always say,

Now more than ever there is need for inner peace. And for

some, tough times become a personal wake-up call to find calm

within turmoil. We go on diets, exercise kicks, stir our religious

fervor, explore hobbies, hug treesall good things, yet often

transitory. By working at happinessas if it is somehow outside

ourselves or distantwe may be placing it on a shelf just out of

reach. Perhaps things are easier than we th ink. Along comes yoga

and it says, Hey, we all already are a very beautiful complete

living being, capable of much, and all we have to do is remaincalm. Yoga reveals this quite naturally by simple practice.

Finding out about yoga is easier than ever these days. You may

hear about it from friends or family. You can take a class from a

qualified teacher, find out about it in books, the Internet, from

libraries, local or international yoga centers, television or videos.

The High Country features several local options for exploring

yoga. In downtown Boone, Valerie Midgett has dedicated her life

to sharing yoga with the community in a grand way. She and her

husband Ed have, by design, built the Neighborhood Yoga center

on Water Street from the ground up exclusively for yoga.

Yoga in our contemporary Western culture of a new millenni-

nw m hv h s df pc.

with Valerie Midgett of Neighborhood Yoga of Boon

An Interview


3/5


um is evolving and taking on many forms,

some more authentic than others.

Yoga techniques emerged as procedures

to restore wholeness. Yoga is not a reli-

gion and is practiced by followers of all

traditions as well as by those of no affili-

ations. Anyone can practice yoga. One of

the clearest explanations describes Yoga as

a unification of attention and awareness

with our essence of being.

Yoga is classically taught from teacher

to student of any age, interest and back-

ground, from many levels of motivation

and abilities. Originally it was passed

down through oral tradition, and then

sometime around 2,500 years ago a

scholar from India is credited with writ-

ing a revealing, concise but comprehensive

manual on yoga known asPatanjalis Yoga

Sutras. This guidebook in its first threads

of wisdom basically explains: Yoga is a

calm mind, which reveals peace. Other-

wise, stuff happens.

The book goes on to elaborate on yogas

components: leading a responsible whole-

some life, exercising your mind and body,

relaxing and ultimately being clear or

realizing we already are clear once calm.

The eight components of yoga are: ethical

living, moral soundness, healthy posture,

breathing with vitality, worthy focus,

openness, meditative calm and oneness.

Meditation is also yoga. Meditation and

yoga techniques encourage healthiness

of mind and body. Roy Eugene Davis, aWestern authority on yoga stated, Medi-

tation and yoga are natural processes of

withdrawing attention from external con-

ditions and directing it inward to a cho-

sen focus of concentration. Side-benefits

of regular meditation and yoga have been

widely reported. These can include stress

reduction, strengthening of the bodys im-

mune system, improving powers of con-

centration, memory and slowing of bio-

logic aging processes. For these reasons,

regular meditation and yoga are now in-

creasingly recommended by many physi-

cians and other health practitioners.

MeditationTechnique

A Simple

Meditation is also yoga. Meditation and

yoga techniques encourage healthiness of

mind and body. Here is a simple meditation exercis

1. In a quiet place, find a comfortable

upright-seated position.

2. Close your eyes, breathe and relax.

3. As you breath in, mentally recite,

hear or feel calm. As you breathe out,

mentally recite, hear or feel peace.

Any word or phrase you relate to

can be used in the technique above.

Synchronize the word or phrase with you

natural breathing rhythm for 10 minutes

or more. Try it every day for a week, then

longer if you like. Should you at any poin

in meditation find yourself residing in

thought-free silence, just abide there in t

stillness and leave off the technique.

Many yoga poses are not difcult.

Octogenarians Nick and Dorothy Bush

practice Mountain Pose which improves,

posture, balance and sel-awareness.

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Top: Meditation retreat attendees in Cobra Pose

during morning Hatha Yoga classes. This pose or

posture can be done a number o ways, including

gently without much stretch. Like many yoga

poses, the Cobra Pose is best practiced while

observing physical limitations and under the

guidance o a qualied teacher.

Above: Roy Eugene Davis explains a specic type o

yoga known as Kriya Yoga, which uses intentional

actions to restore the practitioners awareness to

wholeness.

Below: Master sitar musician Hasu Patel and her student

Todd Bush reunited or a tour o yoga ashrams o India

this year are shown here in Baligai. Hasu perorms

concerts and workshops on yogas connection with

music. Photo by Anil Patel

easy and some more challenging.

India is another story in itself, where

yoga is life. One example reflecting this

was found along a two-mile stretch of

beach on the east coast of Indias Bay of

Bengal in beautiful Pondicherry. Each sun-

rise finds forms of folks silhouetted on the

shoreline expressing yoga, meditation and

breathing exercises side by side.

Growing up as a Catholic boy ques-

tioning the norm in the transitional

1970s, I reveled in yoga and Easter n phi-

losophy books furnished by my well-readbrother Bruce. The 1970s were an early

era for yoga when it gained a more pub-

licly accessible popularity in Western so-

ciety. Transcendental Meditation, Bible

and Gita study, yoga classes, metaphysical

explorations and nightly reads fromAuto-

biography of a Yogi captivated my teenage

attentions.

In 2007, I attended a weeklong medi-

tation retreat, which also offered daily

Hatha Yoga classes by guest teacher

Norma Chirolla of the Yoga Institute

of Atlanta. After a week of training andNormas instructional video in hand, I

refined a more serious home practice.

Being a homebody regarding anything

that resembles exercise (other than hik-

ing, biking and swimming), home study

works out best for me (though each time

I get around a real teacher or am in a

classroom setting, its obviously a more

effective track for proper form). Two dear

friends, Caron & Jack Krier, formerly

of the High Country, now teach yoga to

nearly 400 students a week in Florida.

During our visits together they graciouslysuggest postures and adjustments to my

practice, which have also greatly helped.

My next major boost came while trav-

eling in India this past January, where

I learned the time-honored Sivananda

90-minute daily yoga routine. This partic-

ular routine includes: relaxation, breath-

ing exercises, sun salutations (a flowing

warm-up series) plus 12 posturessome


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Back in the states on the grou nds of

a meditation retreat my wife Lo-

rie and I recently attended, an idyllic,

pre-dawn spring morning complete

with birdcalls and a gentle sky glow

awakened us from peaceful slumber.

Venus was piercing the eastern sky

through tall pines and our windows

wispy sheers. We spent a fun, relax-

ing, even enlightening week learning

of yoga, meditation and Ayurveda

an ancient Indian science promoting

complete health.

Each days events began with half

an hour of meditation and an option-al hour of Hatha Yoga, followed by a

wholesome breakfast. The meals, all

delicious, organic and vegetarian were

all served with much love by staff and

volunteers. This retreat, like many yoga

centers (or ashrams) in India, manages

to run on a donation basis without even

suggesting amounts.

Morning talks introducing and in-

structing various meditation practices

were given by Roy Eugene Davis, the

director of the yoga center. A teacher

of yoga meditation for more than 50

years, Davis was born on a farm in Ohio

and began his interest in yoga by read-

ing books from his local public l ibrary.

One book in particular,Autobiography

of a Yogi, attracted him at age 18 to head

west to California to meet its author.

There he found and later became initi-ated into Kriya Yoga and how to teach

it by Paramahansa Yogananda, whose

landmark book, originally published in

1946, introduced millions worldwide

to yogamyself included. Yogananda

exquisitely spun tales of his turn of the

century childhood discoveries of the

seemingly plentiful and amazing yoga

masters of India he encountered. The

book explains the teachings of yoga

while releasing the imagination and

inspiring inner exploration.

Through study, classes, meditation

and practice, the highlight of it all

for me was to share in yoga with my

Dad one fine day and look over at him

as we concluded. With both of our

hands joined prayerfully, we sat con-

nected to what connects us all. Na-maste we whisper. This wonderful

blessing or greeting that means I bow

to that in you, which is the same as that

in all of us. w

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Finding your peace can be anywhere. These

Pondicherry, India residents and visitors greet

the day at waters edge. May your happiness,

however you know it, be with you always.

nms

Like many yoga studios, the windowsill and

surroundings o Neighborhood Yoga refect a

unique mixture o east meets west. Ater all, yoga

represents a union.

Roy Eugene Davis,

Meditation Retreats and CSAwww.csa-davis.org

P.O. Box 7, Lakemont, Ga. 30552-0001

706-782-4560

Sivananda Yoga Centers Worldwidewww.sivananda.org

Neighborhood Yoga:www.neighborhoodyoga.net

212 Water Street, Boone, N.C. 28607

828-265-0377

Monthly Classes on Foundations

of Yoga by Todd Bushwww.meditateom.com/csahcnc/

There are additional yoga instruction options in the High Countr

For listings - please check local newspapers and the interne

Hasu Patel,

Sitarist and classi

Indian music/yogaworkshop facilitatohttp://www.hasupate

(on the resources mentioned in this article)

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