Discovering the voice of yoga
By Carol Blanchard

I noticed when stepping in front of our new Wellness class that there were a few enthusiastic members who were sharing about their morning boot camp classes. Getting up in the morning on time to meet your teammates and be greeted by your group leader takes discipline, courage and commitment. The results of a brisk morning workout not only give you the exercise you need to be productive throughout the day but burn calories to maintain or lower weight. There are many other benefits as well, including building a camaraderie with teammates who may later become good friends.

Now let’s take a look at the Voice of Exercise, which is the voice of the group leader. What tone of voice, what words is she/he using and how does that make you feel? More often than not, that voice sounds like a Marine drill sergeant that underscores thoughts in your own mind, such as “Move faster, you lazy bum, feel the burn, faster, one more time, push, go for it, don’t stop now, go go go” are often the commands filling your head to drown out weak protests to the contrary. We learn to obey those tough commands because we know deep inside that we need that kick in the pants to get going and that we are really lazy.

How different yoga is from the very beginning of a practice session. We begin by inviting ourselves to participate. We want to invite ourselves to pay attention, to tune in and tune out the voices and thoughts dominating our inner space. The Voice of Yoga is much like a kind mommy reaching out to her little squirmy child and inviting her to stand or sit to focus on the breath. Slowly and gently, the rise of the inhale and fall of the exhale settles thoughts. From this settled place we initiate the asana, or physical posture while noticing with interest how the body feels today and what thoughts or emotions are present in our minds. As we continue with the yoga sequence in this manner, we begin to see how these thoughts and emotions affect the breath and the ease in which we move in and out of the asana.

The Voice of Yoga is one of acceptance, interest, exploration, inquiry. It does not judge or issue commands. It notices and gradually explores the body and inner space. Best of all, the practice itself is one of releasing what we no longer need. Maybe we no longer need to have those neck muscles quite so tight so we give permission to release, let go a little bit. We proceed throughout the practice this way so that at the end while resting we may be able to feel less stress and even experience our own natural joy of being alive.

When you encourage the Voice of Yoga, through regular practice, this voice can be present in all of life’s activities including being at morning bootcamp. Trusting this voice that encourages exploration and inquiry can bring whole new levels to running, dragging tractor tires, and push ups. These two voices can actually complement each other bringing a new dimension to taking care of our bodies and minds.