The Long Stretch

A yoga class for you

My first ever yoga class was in high school, but for the life of me I can’t remember it. I only know I signed up because a boy I liked was in the class and he smelled good. Later in my early twenties in Sydney a woman came into the studio where I was training to become a Pilates instructor and mentioned she was looking for yoga students.

I thought to myself, why not? I’ll give it a go. All I can remember from that class was how she ‘put’ me into triangle pose (trikonasana) and how much it hurt. I mean, legs, arms, neck, everything quivering like a leaf and her barking orders at me. OMG why in the world would I ever want to do yoga? I think she was an Iyengar teacher, but I am not sure. I never went back to her class.

Later I found yoga again, persisted and made it my life’s work and passion. I needed the right teacher and the right approach which for me came from the teachers I was lucky enough to meet in Byron Bay in the early 90’s. People like Louisa Sear, Dena Kingsberg, Eve Grzybowski, Rick Birrel and Jenny Groves. All these teachers are still alive and kicking and still inspiring! Can you believe it?

Now that I am free and clear (mostly) of menopause my body needs a very different type of practice, and when I speak to other teachers my age and older they agree. Those 108 backflips we did feel a lifetime away. So do repetitive sun salutations and springy handstands. Not that I don’t handstand anymore or backbend, it’s just my ideas about the purpose of asana have shifted.

I used to think that the lighter I could feel in my body, the freer my mind would be. The closer I could get to a place, space, experience where nothing ever bothered me. When I reached this ‘state’ I would be impervious to life’s challenges. But after going through what seemed like hundreds of crisis points in my life and handling them pretty much in the same way as always, pushing through them like a bulldozer, I started to get the idea that asana and the practices in general would not carry me over the threshold.

That’s when my earnest search for that missing piece began. Luckily I met John, was led to the tradition of Atma Vidya, Self Knowledge, and the real preparation of my mind began.

What about my yoga practice and teaching Yoga? Was there any point?

At first, once I knew that no matter how much sadhana I did it couldn’t show me the nature of who I am, I freaked. I felt like I’d been sold a lie. But then I thought about the sensations and experiences I had at the completion of my practice. I was always calmer, had more energy, felt grounded, and was a better problem solver. My mind felt clear. Practice kept me flexible physically and mentally.

John often shares in his classes that practice is not needed to recognise the self, because only a teaching and a teacher who, having recognised themselves, can point out one’s own true Nature. Practice polishes the diamond. It helps to prepare the mind. A restless, busy mind is likened to a drop of water when it hits a hot plate. As soon as the water lands on the plate it fizzles and evaporates. How can we even stop long enough to ask questions, the big questions when our minds are dancing like butterflies from one bright flower to the next.

And social media and our phone addictions have made us even more restless. My inbox, Instagram and Facebook feeds are loaded with advice on how to sleep better, digest better, exercise better. Why do I need all this advice? Because my phone is literally robbing me of my ability to live a healthy normal life. Things I did in my 40’s like gardening, sewing, baking, walking with friends, potluck suppers, parties. It’s all been reduced to socialising on a rectangular screen. And we just can’t help ourselves because the only way to interact and run our businesses and keep up with friends is on our screens…

Practicing prepares the mind. It calms, it grounds, it reminds the nervous system to regroup. We don’t have to do any fancy kind of practice, something simple and consistent is enough.

I’ve been offering weekly classes since we launched Sundaram online ashram in 2021. I’d say that’s about 230 classes in total that are in the library. Over that time even though my teaching style remains consistent, the way I teach and what’s offered has changed. Classes are much more somatic now than they were, the pace is slower and there’s more variations and options.

I taught this class below last Tuesday. It’s called the Long stretch and is meant to improve bloodflow to the tissues and support extended focus and concentration of the mind. If you haven’t done a practice with me in a while, I hope you’ll enjoy the class and if you’d like to have a more consistent asana practice feel free to get in touch and find out how you can get access to our online replay library.

Hari Om

Rachel