Yoga

Intheblack, Mar 2008 by Dillon, Matthew

WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD? YOGA TEACHES THAT YOU MUST FIRST CHANGE YOURSELF

Mention the word "yoga" and you'll get a range of responses. Some people associate it with ashrams and ascetics, a discarding of the modern way of life in favour of a quest for the more spiritual. Incense and chanting come to mind. Others think more of its physical manifestations, and of extremely flexible practitioners contorting themselves into unlikely or even dangerous poses - feet arranged behind the head, for instance.

Dominique Santana from the Australian Yoga Academy says when yoga is taught authentically it is a mental, physical and spiritual workout. "Yoga literally means union - of mind, body and soul," Santana says. "It is the state of harmony achieved when all aspects of yourself are in balance."

It might seem counterintuitive for a practice that has such seemingly lofty aspirations, but yoga and business are inextricably linked. At its heart yoga preaches the virtues of accountability, focus, stillness of mind, calmness, dedication - all practices espoused by and even necessary for business success in an era of corporate social responsibility.

Yoga's physical benefits are undeniable, and many in the corporate world have embraced its practice as a way to unwind and relax from workaday stress.

Along with masseurs and healthier food in the canteen, you're quite likely these days to see a yoga teacher guiding corporate types through breathing and stretching exercises on site. Managers have worked out it actually makes their staff more productive.

And there is an even more obvious connection: yoga is big business worth serious coin to those spiritual gurus not afraid of making money.

In its many and varied manifestations, yoga has been practised for thousands of years.

Yet the type most frequently practised in the West, and the most exercise-oriented, is hatha yoga, whose foundations were laid by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Sri T. Krishnamacharya and B.K.S Iyengar in India in the 1930s.

Yoga participation in Australia has grown rapidly in recent years to become the 13th-most-popular physical activity, not including walking, according to figures from the Australian Sports Commission. Practised by 2.9 per cent of the population, it ranks ahead of Australian rules football, dancing, fishing and martial arts.

All sorts of reasons are given for participating in yoga. "Why you would practise yoga is because it improves the quality of your life," says Cairns-based Nicky Knoff, who has been teaching and practising for 38 years. "You breathe correctly, it improves concentration and focus, it clears your mental landscape, it increases muscle tone and range of movement so health is improved. It improves flexibility and enhances balance.

"It helps you to connect with yourself, so you're tuned in when anger arises so you have to time to act rather than react. It helps you build strength, fortitude, courage, daring."

She also SayS it strengthens the immune system, normalises weight, helps release emotional blockages, improves self-esteem and assists in overcoming injury.

Stephen Penman is the president of the Yoga Teachers Association of Australia, and a teacher of wellness, health enhancement and lifestyle management at RMIT and Monash Universities in Melbourne. He helped conduct a national survey of yoga in Australia in 2006, interviewing 4000 yogis (or yoga practitioners).

The reasons most commonly given for starting yoga were to improve health/fitness and flexibility/muscle tone and to reduce stress or anxiety.

Although relatively few respondents mentioned "spirituality" or "personal development" for why they began doing yoga, many cited these as a reason for continuing. "Yoga teachers will tell you that this is no surprise," Penman says. "People come to yoga for the physical but stay for the spiritual."

Santana is all for enhancing and mastering "the physical vehicle" (that's "the body" to you and me) but believes practising yoga serves a much higher purpose.

"To me the most important benefit is a sense of responsibility and empowerment that comes from really understanding the psychology and philosophy of the yoga tradition - and that is that we are all responsible for the lives we create for ourselves," Santana says. "And what we do - the actions we take, the words that we say - have a carry-on effect to those around us."

It's something that Knoff is also passionate about. "That's why we teach yoga, because we want to have a better world," she says. "That's how we find we can reach people. When they look after themselves they start looking after other people, animals, the environment.

"Imagine if George Bush was a yoga practitioner. He never would have gone to Iraq - no way!"

Ask yoga teachers about the connection between yoga and business and their first instinct is to talk about the anxiety-ridden suits who come to class wanting to learn how to relax.

"Let's just take for example pranayam, or the awareness of your breath," Santana says. "There are so many engaged in the rat-race that miss out on so much health purely because they're not breathing properly.