Restorative Yoga (Class of 2028)

 

On September 22nd, I attended the Restorative Yoga event hosted by the Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program Executive Board. With amazing instruction by Spelman alumna Aliya Brooks, I learned new yoga exercises and breathing techniques to calm me down before the season of midterms. 

While I was struggling to hold my downward dog position, I remembered a conversation I had in high school with an Indian classmate who was telling me about the origins of yoga. As we know it today, yoga is a health and fitness practice that is typically costly, with prices ranging from $30-$45 per class, and characterized by women wearing matching sets or men with man buns. The origins of yoga, however, are vastly different from the picture we see in the Western world.  Yoga was originated in northern India as a way to align oneself with the universe and to achieve the highest level of perception and harmony. My classmate told me that the practice is so sacred that they have carved out times in the day for citizens to take the time to practice yoga. I couldn't help but think about how much money the yoga/pilates industry has been making in the past few years, and it reminded me that the Western world is so moved by capitalism that it seems unbelievable that people would practice yoga for the intention of alignment with the universe. 

This principle of alignment reminded me of the Tao Te Ching, a Chinese philosophical text that we read in our Honors Philosophy Seminar. Although in different parts of the world, it is interesting to me how different cultures have different references to being aligned with the universe and how you can better yourself every day to reach everlasting peace. Now I know this is much more common on the eastern side of the world. Both yoga and Taoism emphasize togetherness and being in accordance with nature. In the West, everything is so "Every man for himself" that I cannot imagine Taoism or the original practices of yoga becoming widespread. There is a large component missing, which is our connection to one another.

So I wonder, is it okay for me to practice yoga? I have acknowledged the origins of the practice, and although I don't practice it the way it is intended, I absolutely respect it. 

By, 

Camryn Owens