Ah, the benefits of yoga. What’s not to like about stretching every cell in your body, extending your lifespan and sprawling out on a comfortable mat while losing yourself in tranquility?
But how do you choose which yoga teacher or studio will inspire you?
If you go to a class and can’t get past the third pose without gasping, limping or having a hernia, that’s probably not the right yoga class for you. A gentler yoga style might be perfect.
As long as the yoga practice flows with mindfulness, you are advancing your physical and spiritual fitness. Yoga’s purpose is to stabilize the mind in the body, and West Hawaii has more than a dozen studios, temples and gyms that are helping students do just that.
Hundreds of classes taught by teachers steeped in ancient practices, modern somatic studies and fitness principles are offered. What unifies them – aptly, since yoga means “union” — is a focus on daily practices to cleanse the body and mind, connect with a deeper, more inclusive intelligence and reawaken human capacities mostly ignored in the rush of modern life.
Where do you go in West Hawaii for the right mix of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual support for your health and personal growth?
Which yoga style suits you best?
Each style and teacher has a particular focus: Hatha yoga is usually slower, often ideal for middle-aged beginners and aims to improve flexibility; Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga strengthen the core and sculpt the body; other styles like Kundalini invigorate spiritual aliveness through breathing and sound. Each style is usually taught differently by different individuals.
Jennifer Buss of Yoganics Studio in Kainaliu advises you to find a teacher that suits your unique needs.
“Traditionally, yoga was practiced with the ultimate goal of releasing tension from the physical body so that seekers could sit in meditation and receive the benefits of freedom and peace,” she said.
She has brought these benefits to stroke survivors and people with hip replacements, Parkinson’s and Down Syndrome. Now the Director of Kuena School of Yoga, a 200-hour Teacher Training program rooted in Hatha, Integral, and Iyengar traditions, she extols a unique branch of yoga that serves developmentally disadvantaged populations.
“Everybody can practice yoga,” she said.
Ryan Nakade prefers teachers who are “primarily oriented toward the students and not on themselves. They’re paying attention to students’ posture, breathing and intimate details of the practice.”
Ryan teaches at the Big Island Yoga Center in Kealakekua. In his meditative Ananda (Bliss) Yoga classes.
“Every posture has an affirmation so it engages the students’ mind to tune into more subtle levels of being,” he said. “The central idea is that asana is not an end in itself but a way to establish higher awareness.”
Yoga spaces
When you visit a yoga class, are the space and people welcoming and soothing? Does it feel like a safe place for you to turn inward and express yourself, free of competition or judgment.
“Attend a couple of classes or more of a possible teacher and pick up the “vibe” for you. Do you resonate together? If not, keep looking,” Ambika Rose, who teaches yoga at Daifukuji Temple, said. “If so, jump in and wholeheartedly participate!”
Having 40 years of personal yoga and Zazen practice, she has learned a lot.
“Yoga is an energy exchange between student and teacher, or truly two spiritual seekers,” she said. “It’s not just a sharing of movements, skills, postures and breathing techniques to become flexible.”
Is variety the spice of yoga?
Some studios like Yoga Hale in Kailua, offer many styles under one roof, and all classes are open to students on a donation basis.
“A good yoga teacher will be friendly, take the time to know your name, and emphasize safety and modifications (needed),” instructor Andrea Hutchens said. “A good class should flow, have a beginning, middle and end, and sort of make sense to some degree, not be choppy, scattered or jumping in and out from one yoga posture to another.”
A teacher for 16 years, Andrea added that a heartfelt passion for teaching comes through in the voice during class. She likes a teacher with a sense of humor, who makes you feel “more at ease in your skin when you leave than when you arrived!”
She added that a good teacher will have knowledge of Sanskrit, the language of yoga, but not overuse it or their knowledge of yoga.
Listen to your body
The best yoga teachers constantly remind us that there is no such thing as perfection and there is no destination. A good teacher will help you listen to your own body. Are you feeling balanced and connected when you leave the class or studio? And now? How does the practice echo in everything you do, on and off the mat?
Be open and willing to discover new things. Yoga has only been around for more than 5,000 years, and we’re still fine-tuning the practice.
Marya Mann, PhD., is an energy medicine consultant at Kona Coast Wellness and teaches Gentle Yoga and Yoga Flow at Club Rehab in Kealakekua. She can be reached at marya.mann@gmail.com