Yoga

I've been wanting to write this post for a long time now.  This past summer, this photo was shot in front of a wall inc Butchertown with the word LOVE painted in bold rainbow script.

There a couple of things about this photo that I felt fitting for this very post.  Namely, the fact that I'm posing in a handstand variation, and that I look tiny in relation to the backdrop.  Why is that fitting you wonder?  Stay with me, y'all...

We live in a fast-paced society.  Ever since the creation of the smart phone we won't tolerate a moment of stillness and quiet.  Like an addict, we seek constant stimulation whether it be from tv, our phones, social media, you name it!  In fact, you're probably reading this post on your smart phone to avoid idle waiting.... BUSTED!

Shaming is a form of publicly humiliation for not fitting into what is considered acceptable behavior or form.  If you've never experienced it, consider yourself lucky.  First, there was body-shaming, then slut-shaming, then food-shaming, and dog-shaming; and recently, political-shaming. And now, is YOGA-SHAMING the next form of public humiliation?!?!  Let's face it, we live in a culture of shaming and as social media becomes more and more a part of our lives, it not only creates a platform for shamers, but also publicly exposes the shaming culture itself. How about that for an ironic twist?

Let me just start this article by saying Joseph is #yogagoals and #yogaprogress summed up into one awesome person.  Keep reading and find out why...I guarantee you will be inspired!

#tbt to 5 years ago.... it was February 2012 and I was new to yoga (about 4 months in).  My local hot yoga studio was hosting a workshop with someone named Joseph Encinia.  I had no idea at the time who he was, nor did I realize this encounter would completely change my life.  

The time had finally come.  I had arrived in Los Cabos, Mexico, to train with Tony Sanchez #willyousignmymat.  Previous to this day, he had been "the man behind the poster" to me.

If you've practiced Bikram yoga, you've seen the poster.  It hangs in almost every hot yoga studio and it includes tiny photos of a man performing each of the elusive Bikram "advanced" series.  However, you probably did not realize that this man is not Bikram Choudhury himself, but rather a man who Bikram once considered his protege.  This series used to only be accessible if you were part of an underground network of yogis and teachers.  You had to be invited and it was not an official class (#youcantsitwithus); however, I soon found that Tony made DVDs and they were available online.  For some reason this man did not feel that he "owned" this yoga nor that you needed his or anyone permission to practice it.  

I'm a mutt and proud of it: I'm half Spanish and half Malaysian (ethnically Chinese) for those of you who don't already know me.  I was born in the year of the dog in the Chinese zodiac -pretty ironic if I do say so myself.  When I was younger I felt more connected to the Spanish side of my heritage.  At home we often ate Mediterranean food and my parents spoke in Spanish to each other.  Summers were often spent in the south of Spain visiting my father's side of the family.  My recent passion for all things yoga revamped an old curiosity I've had for my mother's culture including the practice of Feng Shui (pronounced Fung Shway).

So here you are, reading a yoga blog because yoga has undeniably swept the globe.  Maybe you practice yoga, maybe not, but there's no denying that you can pretty much find it EVERYWHERE.  And, it's especially hard not to scroll through your Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media outlet without encountering someone happily displaying a photo of them perched atop a mountain peak or any other backdrop in some type of yoga asana (pose). I call this PDA (Public Display of Asana).  How did our personal yoga practice become so.....well, PUBLIC?

If you've ever been to my yoga class, you know that I always begin with a guided 5 minute meditation.  I then watch as some students happily embrace a few moments of zen whereas others are almost terrified to sit in stillness for what seems like an eternity.  

When I first began my yoga practice, I would roll my eyes to the thought of meditation, setting intentions, third eye awareness, or anything I considered "yoga gobbledy goop".  As my practice grew, I started to dismiss preconceived notions and I started to pay attention.  Pay attention to what, exactly?  Well that's the tricky part.  Really, it is just learning to pay attention in general.  This is what we refer to, in yoga, as building awareness.   

This so-called awareness is said to come from the Third Eye Chakra (the 6th chakra). I am here today to tell you that there is much more scientific basis to it's powers than you once may have thought.  

If I had a dollar for each time someone expressed wanting to learn yoga but were hesitant to go to a yoga class for fear of looking ridiculous, I would be buying a vacation home in Bali by now.  In my last article, I talked about the growing interest in yoga, but what do you do when you want to take the plunge and don't know where to start? 

Yoga is HOT! I'm not talking about hot yoga, and i'm not talking about sexy hot.  I'm talking about yoga being hot, as in popular.  There is no denying the mass influx of new yogis every day. The newly released 2016 Yoga in America Study Conducted by Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance 2016 Yoga in America Study Conducted by Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance shows that the number of US yoga practitioners has increased to more than 36 million, up from 20.4 million in 2012. But without reading a white paper article, I can tell you from my own observance of countless wide-eyed new yogis I meet everyday, that the numbers are pretty impressive.  But why the sudden growth?  Why now?