be around for thousands more to come. Right now, as yoga enjoys its place in the zeitgeist, it’s a great time to pay attention and get started.
It’s hard to miss the conversation because it is everywhere: yoga is mindful movement; it is functional mobility for our bodies; it is calming for our minds; it is everything we want and need it to be. This all might sound too good to be true, or come cloaked in language you find unfamiliar, but getting started is much easier than you might think.
You might not realise it, but you’re probably already doing it.
Scott Schwenk
So You Say I’m Already Doing Yoga?
As children, most of us spent our time playing, running around and getting dirty in the outdoors. We didn’t take life too seriously. We acted the fool and liked to have a good time, no matter the consequences. It’s also likely that when we got angry or frustrated our parents taught us to take a few deep breaths to calm down (usually after being sent to our rooms).
This is yoga. You just might have been calling it by a different name.
Think back to when you were younger. You played football, basketball, hockey, rugby or some other sport. You’d wake up on game day and head to the field ready to play. But when you got there, you didn’t just run on the field and jump straight in. It’s likely you started with a team talk, a moment when you aligned your focus and talked about intentions, such as trying your best and working together. You did a few stretches, nothing too vigorous; just a few minutes to warm up the entire body, become aware of the moment and move simply.
This is yoga. You just might have been calling it by a different name.
Davin Jones
‘THIS IS YOGA. YOU JUST MIGHT HAVE BEEN CALLING IT BY A DIFFERENT NAME’
Or when you wake up at home, ready for the day ahead, you don’t just pop up from the mattress and run out the door. It’s likely you take a moment to stretch the arms, move the body gently, roll out the neck a few times and ease yourself into the day.
This is yoga. You just might have been calling it by a different name.
Try to remember a time recently when you’ve been angry or frustrated. It might be when someone cut you off on the road or you didn’t get the job you wanted or your next-door neighbour decided to throw a party on a week night. You may have wanted to scream out a few choice words or throw your middle finger in the air in protest. But you stopped, took a breath, chose to be the bigger person and just let it go.
This is yoga. You just might have been calling it by a different name.
Physically, yoga is a dynamic stretching of the body. Off the mat, it’s not taking life too seriously; it’s slowing down, taking deep breaths, fighting frustration, keeping a level head, calming the mind, easing social tension, living in the moment, strengthening your focus, enhancing your relationships, learning to communicate, dealing with stress, overcoming challenges, living in the now, paying attention to what you’re doing, caring deeply and taking the time to breathe.
If you can relate to any of the above, then you’re already doing yoga. You just might have been calling it by a different name.
What Does Yoga Actually Mean?
Specifically, yoga means ‘union’. It is translated from the classical Indian language of Sanskrit as ‘yuj’, or ‘yoke’, like that which is used to connect an ox to a cart. In Western translation, yoga is a connection: to our bodies, minds and breath; to each other and the world around us.
So to practise yoga is to connect, on all levels. If you’re on the mat, connect with what you’re doing and how you’re breathing: every action and pose. Don’t just ‘do’ the poses. Feel them. Notice the details – push, pull, ground and lift – feel the muscles engage, feel the floor, feel it all. Connect to every bit of the body in action. It’s often said that yoga on the mat is meditation in motion.
If you’re off the mat, connect with the conversation you’re in, put your phone down and pay attention, be mindful in your actions, acknowledge your feelings and emotions, be nice to others, listen like you mean it, stop talking so much and treat everyone you meet with kindness.
This is yoga.
Travis Eliot, Los Angeles
‘Yoga is freedom. Every human being is looking for freedom. Some do it through negative means and others do it through positive means. But we all want to be free. And yoga helps us achieve this.’
Josh Blau, Melbourne
‘Yoga is union. Pure bliss. Happiness. A way to be at peace with everything that is happening around you. Calm in the eye of the storm.’
Ude Okoye, London
‘Yoga is the thing that brings me to the present, into a place of appreciation for that moment. For me, it’s a cure-all. If you haven’t done it, you should try it.’
Victor Chau, Hong Kong
‘Yoga is living, being 100 per cent aware.’
Kyle Gray, Glasgow
‘Yoga is the practice of knowing yourself.’
Eric Ernerstedt, Sweden
‘Yoga is taking responsibility for your happiness.’
Octavio Salvado, Bali
‘Yoga is the greatest way to refine my authenticity and discover who I am. It is the ultimate battleground. It is not a place for the weak of heart; it’s far too confrontational for that.’
Adam Husler, London
‘Yoga is the practice of self-enquiry, through the control of movement and breath. It is an entirely subjective experience.’
MEET THE BOYS
JASE TE PATU
NEW ZEALAND
WORDSMITH. WARRIOR. P.L.A.Y.ER. YOGI.
What’s your story? I’m from humble beginnings. I was raised with my younger bro by my grandparents. My parents split when I was two years old. I only met my mum in 2014. Not knowing your real parents creates some pretty deep self-belief from a young age. I was raised in both the Māori and Anglo-Saxon ways, as my grandparents were native speakers and steeped in the traditional ways of our indigenous people. I was encouraged to try anything and everything. My ‘A-type’ personality meant