SYTAR

Maybe you're one of those super observant types who sees the above image of a sitar and then notices the title of this weeks blog being spelled sytar. And perhaps you're thinking to yourself, that's not how you spell it...okay smarty pants, you're right. SYTAR stands for the "Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research", the name of a conference that I attended last week in lovely Newport Beach, California. This was the fourth SYTAR I've been to and it was far and away the best yet.

Part of the enjoyment was hanging out with my other tribe, a handful of Australians who had crossed the Pacific to be at the event. It reawakened a loving and familiar place that rests deep within me and was incredibly refreshing. For that, I am truly grateful to have such an extended and ranging network. The other part of the enjoyment were the many interesting, informative and interactive sessions with those on the forefront of yoga therapy here in the States.

The conference had about 350 attendees which makes for easy dialogue and interaction. And the depth of knowledge rubbing shoulders with each other was a reflection of people who have been living from a yogic perspective for many, many years. These are not trendy or fly-by-night practitioners of this ancient science, rather people who have dedicated themselves to yga through teaching, research and innovation. People who have studied with the contemporary masters stemming from Krishnamacharya were everywhere, sharing their varied perspectives and experiences.

My highlights were numerous from working with yoga therapy balls to suffering and awakening, healthy aging and the recognition of the impact of yoga and how it's permeated into modern Western culture. In the US alone, the numbers of people participating in yoga is projected to be 20.4 million with another 10.4 million people interested in participating. That's almost 9% of the population. Wow! Part of the reason for that is the amount of evidence-based research that has emerged over the past five years, increasing exponentially, and offering real alternatives and integration for people gaining and maintaining their health. People are experiencing the many benefits that yoga has to offer.

It also means that those of us who offer it to the masses have a responsibility to delivering both safe and authentic teachings. One comment that came from many at the conference was holding onto the traditions of yoga not so much those within the last 100 years but in the past 1500-3000 years! The fear is that yoga is being distilled into another option for exercise, a physically based undertaking that sways too much toward what's sexy, appealing and trendy. I would guess that most people who come to yoga do so through the doorway of a physical practice, which is awesome, I'm all for that. However, if our lens stays only on the physical, we miss out on the majority of the practice and its benefits. SYTAR emphasized how the practices of pranayama (breath control), mantra and meditation would add greater richness into the physical, pose-centric practice.

This sentiment left me inspired (literally...to breath in!) when I returned to teaching this past week. My two words for the week were "breathe easy". The intention is to shift from the mechanics of the breath to the feeling the breath has on you. When you're in a child's pose where does your breath go? Is your breath ragged? Uneven? Can you notice how your breath shifts depending on the type of pose or sequences of poses you're practicing? The breath is the key that opens the door into our deeper selves. It connects our layers of energy and nourishes the physical cells of our body. When we let go of struggling with our breath our mind becomes quieter, our tension dissipates and we begin to tap into remembering who we truly are.

"Polishing the mirror" is a beautiful phrase that refers to knowing who we truly are at birth. Throughout our life things happen to us and we begin to forget...as though the mirrors to our souls gather dust and we no longer have clarity. The practices of yoga, the breath in particular, are ways in which we begin to blow off the dust. It's easy to begin...sit with your back straight, close your eyes, let go of tension and see what your breath is doing. Honor it exactly as it is. Then see if you can expand it, slowly, evenly, in peace and with ease.

Get to know your breath and you might tap into the same magic of the seers 3000 years ago. Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.