The Beginner's Mind

A SIMPLE YOGA SEQUENCE FOR BEGINNERS

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The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.
- Plutarch

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For January, we focus on the Beginner’s Mind.  January is a month when many of us elevate our choices and commit to new ways of being.  This is the month when we see New Year’s resolution setters and many beginning yoga students.

We love welcoming some of the newest yogins (yoga practitioners) to the art and science of yoga.  Talk to any of our teachers or students and you’ll find we are all eager to share our experience of our developing yoga practice, which I think starts with the community you are in (in Sanskrit, this is called Sangha).

I just love how our regular students embrace new students.  This is the kind of studio where you are not anonymous.  It takes courage to be seen.  But the relationships that have developed within the four walls of 1818 W. Belmont (and even in an online or hybrid format, everyone is still saying hello to one another, sharing their pets, etc.) show how impactful a smile or an encouraging word can be, especially in our darkest hours.

That is what yoga is.  Yes, you’re probably going to feel amazing after your first (or millionth) yoga class.  Yes, your mind is likely going to feel calmer and your emotions and energy levels more balanced.  But this is all in service of turning the positive state of being developed through yoga into blessings for the entire world.

Yoga develops union, not simply between mind-breath-body but between ourselves and the rest of the universe.  It helps us feel at home in our bodies and on this planet.  Then we become empowered to welcome others into this state of being “at home”.

As much as we love welcoming new yoga practitioners at 5KY, I think it may be a bit of a selfish act, to be honest.  Because meeting new students helps remind us of what yoga is like at the very beginning.  The transcendence of that first breakthrough.

I remember being very resistant to the idea of practicing yoga before I tried it.  I thought it was a bit twee.  After an old injury worsened in my foot, I decided I would have to swap the dance classes I was taking in my theater program to a gentler yoga practice.

My first teacher was an alumna of the school, whose physical condition and control over her body amazed and inspired me as a performer.  So I set about the practice and discovered that not only did I feel stronger and more capable, I also felt a sense of relaxation and well-being I had only ever felt after exhausting running sessions that were roughing up my foot.

When I left college, I was sold on yoga but still very skeptical about the spiritual aspects of it.  I didn’t want to be indoctrinated or chanting for things I didn’t know what they meant.  Nevertheless, I was very committed to practicing yoga (though I now understand the only part of yoga I was practicing at the time were asana or yoga poses) a few times a week.

This is the way many of us enter yoga.  Fighting and struggling with the physical condition of our bodies (at least, I did).  It is natural to start there because the body is the only part of ourselves that is physically tangible.  We may feel it is the only thing we actually have control over.

Then I met my spiritual teacher or Guru, Sivakami Sonia Sumar.  After surgery on my foot, the financial bottom dropping out in 2008, and a traumatic experience post-college, I was very closed off and defensive.  It was like my head was separated from my body, even after practicing yoga consistently with a variety of teachers for two years.

On the very last day of the program I was attending with Sivakami, she asked us to talk about something which we wanted to work on letting go of.  Not really knowing why I began to cry after my turn. 

For many years when I was a bit younger, I had prided myself on not crying easily.  But now, the tears wouldn’t stop.  They flooded my eyes through the entire hour and a half long yoga practice, including the 15-minute deep relaxation at the end.

I was terribly embarrassed to have lost control over my emotions during class.  So I skipped our first of only two meals at the ashram where I was staying and slept deeply.  When I woke up, I felt like I had all this weight lifted off my shoulders.

That afternoon, we were given a puja (which is an act of worship) by a swami from India, all standing around a small Ganesh statue in a grove of palm trees.  I thought that this could be my opportunity to start anew.  My heart had finally opened.

It was at this point that I decided to have faith in Sivakami and therefore, the methodology of yoga as a complete practice, not just yoga poses.  I mean, if she could break down years of walls I’d build up in six days with that stuff, what could she do in six years? What about 60?

This was when I could officially call myself a beginner at yoga because I was finally practicing all the components of yoga with my whole heart.  Over my 10+ years studying with Sivakami and at the Integral Yoga Institute to become a Yoga Therapist, my scientific and personal understanding deepened about why these practices (physical, mental, and spiritual) are so beneficial.

This is why the fit of the teacher with the student is paramount.  Your teacher is there to inspire you to open your heart and go further into your practice.  Otherwise, we’re just spinning our wheels.

Some people are extraordinary and able to do all this without a teacher.  They have connected to the Guru within (Guru literally means remover of the darkness: Gu - darkness, Ru - remover) without the help of a Guru in the form of a person.

I think most of us would benefit from a connection to a person who has already walked the path and can give us directions.  For some, they can read books and get inspired by the words of Gurus from the past and feel that spark of inspiration.  I think I needed a Brazilian woman who could give me a big, Brazilian hug.

So whenever someone tells me they’re a beginning yoga student, I instantly think of this entire story and how I feel now and how yoga has helped me become stronger and more balanced.  I think all longtime yogins have a story about their journey practicing yoga. 

Your story about why you, as a beginner, are practicing yoga reminds us to approach our own practice with the mind of a beginner.  Because the mind of the beginner has no preconceptions and is absorbing so much information, it has to remain in the moment.

For this reason, beginners inspire experienced practitioners as well.  We are so excited for you to start your own journey!

But you may be wondering, how do I get started with yoga?  After all, there are so many options: different yoga studios, different yoga teachers, different yoga apps. 

So I would love to give any beginning yoga students out there a short introduction to a complete hatha yoga practice according to the lineage I am in, which descends from Integral Yoga and the Sivananda tradition of hatha yoga.

This year, we’ll be posting helpful resources on our blog each month, from practice guides on sun salutations, breath work, and meditation, to explanations of why yoga specific practices are beneficial to us.

If you’re looking for more personalized attention from a live instructor, I am also hosting a Yoga for Beginners four-week workshop.  I’d love to see you there!