01 :: Yoga and Me

When go into the way back machine of my mind and try to fathom when was the first time I was introduced to yoga I am transported to a local arcade in the early 90s playing a game called Street Fighter II: The World Warrior. Among the cast of characters was one from India named Dhalsim. He had limbs that would stretch across the screen and he could spew projectiles of fire while saying, “Yoga Flame”.

It was not until 2008 when I had my first authentic experience of yoga. Bikram Yoga Saanich had opened up in my neighbourhood and a flyer invited me in for a free class. At the time I believed that yoga was merely a stretching exercise and thought it would be a good compliment to my gym workout. I knew that the Bikram method was performed in a hot room, however I was unprepared for how challenging the 90 minute class would be. I was amazed by the practitioners in the room moving along to the instructors commands with graceful determination as I struggled to stay in the room; the only thing I had to do.

After the final posture I left the room perplexed: I had thought that I was a pretty fit guy and I questioned if that was in fact true. Furthermore I felt really good once I was outside of the room despite not participating in many of the postures. I signed up for the unlimited introductory offer and took ten classes over two weeks. I didn’t know why but I was hooked. Sign me up for the next three months. Sign me up for the annual pass.

As the years passed by my practice became more disciplined and I found that my yoga was leaking out of the hot room. The first realization was when I became aware that my road-rage was no longer present; I used to be very road-ragey. Before this point I was still under the impression that yoga was just an exercise; a fitness routine and that all of the spiritual-mind-body “stuff” was a bunch woo-woo. Something was changing in me and the change was more than just my physical transformation. My mind was changing as well: I was feeling better about myself and I was feeling better about my life.

Even though I still enjoy spewing out a yoga flame here and there, yoga has become so much more than a special move that a character does in a video game. It is an approach in which a person can make a change in their own being.