Yoga is NOT about bending and stretching! Whaatt?

I was recently told by my physiotherapist to STOP doing yoga! She suggested that I think about stopping permanently. WHAT! Here's my story: I had knee surgery about 6 years ago and have had problems with the left side of my body ever since. I thought I simply had weak hamstrings and glute muscles because of the surgery. But, what I actually had was a series of injuries that I consistently: stretched when I should have been strengthening, ran on when I should have been walking, and practiced Yoga when I should have been keeping my legs together! As a result (a MRI in fact) I now have 7 unique, and quite significant, tears/lesions/'opothys/bone issues to my glute/hamstring/quad/groin/adductor/hip socket! If you're thinking 'ouch', then you're spot on! My current physical activities consist of walking (not uphill), glute bridges, clam walks, adductor squeezes, and cycling (and swimming, but who swims in a pool in winter, right!). As a Yoga teacher and regular Yoga go-er, you might guess that I was pretty devastated by that news? You can image that I wanted to either smack the physio and walk out, attempt a good dose of denial to ease the pain, or continue with the naivety to which I was accustomed to, and go on continuing to further injure my injuries (and then consequently complain about how sore I was).

But no - none of that occurred! What! Am I crazy?

I was totally ok with it. I accepted it with gratitude and took it as a perfect opportunity to listen to my body and do as it said (for a change!). It also dawned on me that stopping Yoga was impossible. You see, Yoga isn't just about attending a class, in a studio, guided by a teacher up the front of the room - you know what I'm talking about - doing Downdog, Warrior, Child's pose (otherwise known as warrior 4 for the A types like me) and ending in Savasana (which, let's face it, is the reason a LOT of people attend Yoga classes in the first place). I'm not saying it's not Yoga, but I am saying that there is WAYYY more to Yoga than attending a regular (or, often, irregular) group class. I had no idea of this when I first decided to learn how to teach Yoga - I thought 'of course I can teach people to stretch, I think I'll be a Yoga teacher'. Wow, was I in for a ride! If I knew then that my life would change so dramatically and that Yoga would transform me, from the inside out, I would have signed up a long time ago. How can doing Yoga, on a mat, change my life.......? Here goes:

Turns out, the Yoga poses (the stretching and flexing) are one of 8 limbs of Yoga. Traditionally, in India, Yoga was an oral tradition, taught one on one. Coming onto a mat, in a formalised and choreographed way is considered more of a Westernised form of Yoga (which no one is complaining about, might I add). To practice Yoga holistically, one would practice not only the 'poses' (or Asana's) but all 8 limbs. The 8 limbs of Yoga are:

1. Yama: Universal morality, also known as our attitude towards things and people outside of ourselves. The Yama's are broken down into 5 'wise characteristics': 1. Ahimsa – Compassion for all Living things; 2. Satya – Commitment to Truthfulness; 3. Asteya - Non-Stealing; 4. Brahmacharya - Sense control; and 5. Aparigraha - Neutralising the desire to acquire and hoard wealth;

2. Niyama: Personal observances, also known as our relationship with ourselves. Like the Yama's, these are broken into 5 'rules' (rules that need to be lived and experienced, rather than just known about): 1. Sauca - Purity; 2. Santosa - Contentment; 3. Tapas – Disciplined use of our energy; 4. Svadhyaya – Self study; 5. Isvarapranidhana - Celebration of the Spiritual;

3. Asanas: Body postures (the semi-aerobic workout that ends in the real reason we go there in the first place, Savasana!);

4. Pranayama: Breathing exercises (think diaphragmatic breathing, full yogic breath or Darth Vader breathing);

5. Pratyahara: Control of the senses or a withdrawal of the senses from attachment to external objects (kind of like letting go of the need to have certain objects like that new shirt or car);

6. Dharana: Concentration and cultivating inner awareness (think, listening to what your body is saying or mindfulness);

7. Dhyana: Devotion to, and meditation on, the Divine (or the universe or whatever higher power you believe in);

8. Samadhi: Union with the Divine (in the state of samadhi the body and senses are at rest yet the mind and reason are alert). I'm pretty sure this is what Bhudda achieved (and probably not something that I will get to, but that wont stop me trying).

(They're a little confusing but watch out for future blog posts - I'll go into them at a deeper level).

These 8 limbs of Yoga are there to help us create balance and equanimity so that we can have peace, good health and harmony with the greater whole (the whole of ourselves and the world around us). Pretty deep and amazing, right!

So, as you can see, I am in fact practicing Yoga daily - don't tell my physio ;)! It will differ how 'strongly' I practice from day to day or how 'devoted' I am on a particular day, but I can genuinely, hand at pray at the center of my chest, say that day to day I follow, to the best of my ability, the other 7 limbs and particularly observe my adherence to the Yama's and Niyama's.

So take this information with you and ask yourself: how do I practice Yoga?

About the Author:

Davina Donovan is a Registered Psychologist and Yoga Teacher. For more information follow dhamma and co. on Instagram.