yoga is not a movement practice

I’ve been having lots of conversations the last few weeks about what yoga is and what it’s not.  There is a “Jesi-ism” that has been flying around the studio for years; you may have heard it: “Yoga is NOT a movement practice, it’s an energy management system.”

This can be confusing to a lot of students who are new to Blue Door.  Because, on the surface, to the casual observer, it sure as heck looks like a movement practice.  Yes, we’re moving.  Yes, as teachers, we’re cueing physical poses.  BUT, the real focus is the breath (prana in Sanskrit).  Once you separate the poses from the breath, you have lost yoga and moved into the realm of exercise.  Yoga is not exercise.  Yoga is an energy management system.

The poses are there for a very specific outcome.  The poses fatigue the body which in turn fatigues the mind so you can meditate.  The poses are a means to an end.  They are not the star of the show.  The breath is.  This is why classes at Blue Door look very different than at other studios.  They’re slower.  They’re smaller.  They’re more intimate.

When you have smaller, slower classes with a group of people you trust, your nervous system can reset.  It recognizes that you’re safe and begins the process of healing.  It shifts from the Sympathetic Nervous System to the Parasympathetic Nervous System.  This shift in the nervous system is what yoga is.

I’m going to be doing a series of these posts sharing the secret sauce of yoga.  I hope it lights you up as much as it lights me up!

Xx

Jesi