The Complete Yoga Community

The Journey of Yoga

Yoga can be much more than a fun way to get a great body

In this article, Cathy Rogers, from Your Yoga Space, describes the unfolding of her own yoga journey and the style of yoga she has developed which reflects this journey, and helps others along their own.

When I started yoga at 17 it was purely to improve my ill health and get fit. It worked like a charm. At 18 I went to England for a gap year, got the usual Heathrow injection and returned 10 kilograms heavier. Again I turned to yoga, this time for weight-loss and I was back to size 32 in no time. I believed yoga to be the best form of exercise out there. I was doing yoga at the local gym and most of the teachers taught purely physical classes with a ‘namaste’ here and an ‘Om’ there. I began to think this was the extent of the spiritual practices yoga offered. In truth I also felt safe in the familiar boundaries of a physical yoga practice. I had been nervous of learning more about the spirituality involved in yoga. I feared I may have to adopt a new religion or that it may lead to some sort of ‘cult’ membership! But then I reached a cross roads in my life: my dream career path lost its appeal and I yearned for something to reignite my passion for life, to help me rework my faltering views on life’s purpose. So in short, I became adventurous.

My gym contract ran out and I began looking for something more – something that could challenge me and push the boundaries of my experience. I found a yoga studio at the end of my street and decided to attend a class. It grabbed me! These classes demonstrated that yoga was more than a physical practice; it was broad, holistic, and uplifting. Best of all, it wasn’t religious or cult-like! I began meeting like-minded people who embraced life and not cars, clothes brands and credit cards. I felt like I had come home after years of meaningless travel. Enjoying this new world I had found, I signed up for yoga teacher training and haven’t looked back.

Yoga is so much more than a healthy body, flat tummy, tight bum and cool postures for showing-off at parties. It can be a lifestyle that provides the practitioner with coping mechanisms for our demanding world. So I have vowed to ensure that the yoga classes I teach will be holistic: incorporating exercises for the body, mind and soul. I teach Hatha and Vinyasa classes with minimal ‘spiritual-talk’ for those whose minds and hearts are beginning to open to new yogic experiences. However, I have developed Journey yoga for those ready to experience more. I believe the body and mind are intimately intertwined and should be exercised together. Thus, in Journey yoga the body and mind are exercised along side one another to further enhance holistic health. Although, Journey yoga is a physical practice it has more emphasis on yogic philosophy, meditation and the mind than most yoga classes out there. I have combined my background in psychology with the yoga philosophies of old, to exercise the mind.

While completing yoga postures and breathing exercises, participants are encouraged to incorporate philosophies into their practice and lives through ‘thought projects’. These mental exercises take many forms to encourage inner reflection. They are based on a monthly theme such as Santosha (contentment), Ishvara Pranidhana (self-surrender), Compassion and so on. So too are the yoga postures, thus, the physical and mental practice work side-by-side towards the same goal.

In addition to the class, participants are provided with journal exercises that can be completed in their own time and in the comfort of their homes. The journal exercises are designed to extend the exploration of the theme, particularly regarding its relevance to their lives. Journal writing becomes especially powerful when our thoughts are written down. They gain clarity as their real perspective emerges. Journal writing is a great way to strengthen the work done in the class.

In Journey Yoga every attempt is made to present theory in an accessible, relevant way. I also try to deliver the material in a way that encourages individual interpretation. And so, the true nature of yoga is honoured as an accepting, loving practice and not a dogma.

The great part about teaching these classes is that I too am taken further on my yoga journey by researching topics and challenging myself to ‘practice what I preach’. I feel blessed during each class because I have a chance to share the many joys of yoga with my students, while they explore their unique yogic paths.

By Cathy Rogers

Try Journey Yoga classes at Your Yoga Space studios in Randburg and Sandton. www.youryogaspace.co.za