The Healing Power of Yoga
After contracting and surviving meningitis at 9 months old, there was little expectation placed on me. It was a miracle then that by 18 months old, I was on ice skates and learning how to play hockey! Thankfully, I have been an athlete my entire life and have seen little limitations from the meningitis. Through high school I played hockey and other sports also on a daily basis, even began bodybuilding and it seemed that athletics was where I could plan my life around. After a family tragedy however, I lost the idea of the future or my vision of what it could be. Floating aimlessly for sometime, I was offered a job on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts where I began to heal.
In September everyone leaves the island and goes back to school and city life, however I stayed behind. The island seemed empty and there were no more elegant parties and the beaches were bare. Something in me had changed and I began to stretch and breathe and I had completely stopped lifting. It was as if the calmness of the island drew me inside and for the first time I looked within.
The stretching and breathing became a big part of my daily routine never having done this beyond a simple stretch before sport. A good girlfriend of mine would later confirm I was doing yoga! How could I be doing yoga, I had never heard of yoga and I didn’t know any of the poses of yoga? The stillness of the land and rough seas were the perfect balance for me. I found the book Light on Yoga written by B.K.S. Iyengar. Some of the postures were ones I had been doing and others were not even thought possible using my tiny mind. Still the formula seemed to be close to the same. Breath work and postures with an earnest attempt at alignment.
After moving to Arizona, I found an authentic teacher on my journey and he helped to encourage and develop the best in me. Not only did I develop my practice in yoga, I also began formally studying Biomechanics at ASU. The combination of yoga and biomechanics proved to be a holistic approach that resonated with me and synergistic with one another. Biomechanics helped me to be a better yoga teacher, while yoga helped me to understand biomechanics better.
For me, yoga was a tool for freedom from the afflictions of the mind and body, which a lot of humans seem to be trapped by. Yoga was not just to stretch my ass but to get my head out of my ass. The more focus I put on approaching the physical practice with a softer touch the deeper physically and mentally I went. The problems that seemed rooted in my life began to clear up and physically I was feeling better than I had ever up until that point of my life. Today 25 years later I am still practicing yoga daily and cycling in Aspen a lot. My body feels and looks great and my mind is sharp and clear.
At its most simple formula yoga could be breath work and stretching.
Yoga is an ancient practice with many variations and when it’s de-mystified it becomes one of the most practical things you can apply to your life. It’s a great addition to the typical Aspen lifestyle of skiing hard in Snowmass in the winter, and cycling or mountain biking in the many trails such as Maroon Bells, fishing or any other activity. Yoga can make you feel better while doing it and allow you to do it better.
