Yoga & Stories

Yoga and stories? How can these two things be anything other than a quirky, or even eccentric combination? But the blending of the two has always seemed very natural to me and was on my mind long before I did my teacher training. I’m not even sure where it came from. All I know is that somehow these two things are inextricably linked in my psyche.

After I qualified, I found that actually the connection had been there all along. I opened a whole can-of-worms full of ancient, wonderful, magical and often brutal stories of yoga postures and how they came to be. They brought a simple anatomical position of the body to life and added a whole other dimension of meaning and richness to the practice. There was not just the glorious Hindu Mythology to draw from but many others as well as more obscure local legends too.

What is Yoga?

Yoga is an ancient spiritual practice that was performed  by holy people in India with the one goal of being able to better commune with God. It consists of elements designed to purify, heal and detoxify the mind and body so that the practitioners could sit comfortably in meditation for several hours. The theory is that in order for the mind to be fully focused and in a meditative state it needs to be situated in a vessel (the body) that is free from pain, toxins and disease. This is what the asanas (postures that we are so familiar with) are designed to do. They build strength, flexibility and detoxify the body from head to toe enabling the mind to centre and do its thing.

It’s a discipline that takes time to master. It is a lifetime commitment and there are many layers, techniques and practices involved that my simplistic definition cannot do justice. But this was the point of the ancient practice of yoga in its original form. What is practiced now (certainly in the west) is based upon on this and it has grown and been adapted so that normal, everyday people can benefit from its effects in the ways that they need to. 

What are stories?

And now we ask this question. This of course, in and of itself, is another can-of-worms but the kinds of stories I am talking about here are the ones that have been handed down from generation to generation. Folklore. The kinds of stories that predate literacy and were essentially a way of communicating a message as much as for entertainment. These would have been told orally with a certain amount of dramatics to hook the audience in, probably around a campfire, and focus their minds. The troubles of the world disappear, all the pain and suffering of life would momentarily vanish.

Stories are healing, stories are detoxifying and OK, you are not going to get strong and flexible by sitting down and reading or listening to stories (in fact, the opposite is true) but when you look at it like that you can start to see a connection. A humble tale about a god or a warrior or a supernatural being could suddenly take on the role of fitting nicely into holistic wellbeing. 

So, how do they fit together?

Well, meditation is, in some way or other, hard for most people. We generally understand the benefits and accept that its probably something we all should do. But the ordinary person is not the ancient monk in the mountains working towards being with God - nor should they have to be. Of course this element should not be forgotten as it’s integral to what the practice was intended for, but yoga today need not have a spiritual element at all if that doesn’t gel with you. I think those who brought it to the west (which was as early as 1890) understood this and adapted it, making it accessible to everyone regardless of how they wish to incorporate it into their lives. 

This is wonderful! Millions of people around the world have found solace in Yoga and are feeling the benefits. But I wonder if they are missing out on a magical element that can be incorporated through story? Yes, this is my crazy theory and it’s probably a bit like Marmite - you’ll either love it or hate it, but I think there is something there. Instead of focusing on the breath for the entire time perhaps focus the mind on a story, an old one, one that has a meaning and a message. Perhaps this is exactly what we need. Maybe you will be able to forget about the world for a while as you stretch and move. Maybe you’ll be able to take something away from it just like those people sat around the campfire all those years ago. 

And one last personal thought around this. Yoga is really important to me in all its many forms and I think: what better way to honour something than to tell its story? Going beyond that, what better way to honour anything than to keep its stories alive? I guess I’m a hopeless storyteller at heart but teaching in this way feels beneficial and natural and I hope it spreads a little joy in each class that I teach in this way.

#yogastories #creativeyoga #yogateacher