TRISTAN TANDBERG
Yogi Solutions and Problems Inc.
What is Yoga?
Yoga is a physical exercise where you strike poses, bend, and hinge. This gives you health benefits and sometimes looks silly. It can also be much more than that—a way of living and a tool for achieving more unity. Your mind, breath, and body all exist within you. When you do the poses, you are farther away from the outside world and your mind, body, soul, emotions, and breath, are given more attention—allowing these elements to connect. This creates a natural synergy between the dimensions of your being where renovation can occur: breathing gets stronger, blood circulation is improved, and your mind is gets calm. So, if you perform the yoga postures in a multidimensional manner that includes breath, movement, and awareness, you unify the body and spruce up any parts that aren’t in a good natural state, and you’ll feel better.
So, yoga is on a spectrum, you are either doing a pose or you are trying to change and bond with your entire self and the universe.
Inner Space
When you do yoga, you are more fully present in the moment as you are concentrating on breathing and poses. This will put your mind in a more calm and spacious state, which will make it easier for you to create more inner space and have control over your busy mind. When you are in the present moment, more inner space is created and your thoughts are farther apart in that space, making it easier for you to experience the present moment. You want your inner space to be the size of a mansion, not an apartment.
Once we can measure how much inner space yogis can create in their minds doing yoga, we can make yoga an event in the Olympics. The Athlete who can make the most inner space in thirty seconds gets the gold.
Where to Practice Yoga?
Origin
We don’t have the name of the original founder of yoga. If we did, their name would be on the list of the 100 most influential figures in history, right below Leonardo da Vinci. We do know that the practice originated in India thousands of years ago. It probably was the result of someone having a bad day around 3,000 BCE. Their back was tight from a farm plow or they were stressed out over the BCE rat race.
The ancient sages of India developed and passed down the practice. They found great benefits from doing yoga as it strengthened their bodies, allowing them to sit and meditate longer. That’s why I like to do yoga. It increases the amount of time I can sit and watch TV. Before doing yoga, I could only watch TV for three hours straight before experiencing discomfort. Now, thanks to my regular practice improving my spinal strength, I can do eight hours straight with no problem. I am a perfectly unified and well-balanced couch potato.
You can practice yoga anywhere; there is always a place to stand, sit, or lie down. Actually, never mind, that’s not correct, you can only do yoga anywhere that is safe. So, no practicing in the streets during the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, in dark alleys after midnight, during a storm, or near perilous cliffs. If you want to practice yoga at a risky place, like at the mouth of an active volcano, you should consider using a virtual reality headset. Put it on and you can experience practicing in any risky place: under a palm tree without the threat of falling coconuts or next to a pride of lions without becoming dinner.
Set Up
Here are some ways to set up your practice so you are on your way to having a harmonious session:
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Wear comfortable clothes, they can be overpriced leggings or the knock offs.
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Try to have very few distractions in front of you. So, cuckoo clocks, your pet hamster’s pen, and your cell phone should be out of sight. Keep tempting food scents away too such as bags of fast food and a lit Apple Pie-scented candle.
The Need for Yoga
We need yoga now more than ever. Our modern world is full of comfy chairs and taxing social media posts that cause us to lose our connection with our body and breath. Not having a fully unified self is like having a sandwich that’s missing the cheese, protein, or sauce; it can still taste good, but it’s not as good as it could be. So, practice yoga to help unify yourself and try to become a complete delicious sandwich. That’s the best state of being. Practice it for ten years and you get sourdough bread. Do it for twenty years and you get to add a second choice of cheese and avocado slices.
What is Yoga Exactly?
Yoga is an absence of thought. The bare space above shows you what an absence of thought looks like.
Why Yoga?
Practicing yoga can be very beneficial for you:
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Physical Benefits - It enhances the circulation of your blood, releases stress through sweat, improves flexibility, is helpful in injury prevention, and it strengthens your abdominal muscles, which improves your balance. With your improved flexibility, you will be able to reach under couches and find things like a champ.
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Fun – Practicing yoga is fun. Grabbing your toes, putting your feet in the air, and making strange shapes is always a good time.
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Social Benefits – Taking classes with a group or being part of a group of people who do yoga gives you social benefits. Just make sure when you have neighbors, to be respectful of yoga space property lines.
Whether you're aiming to improve your overall well-being or seeking specific outcomes, yoga has the power to slightly improve your week or transform your life for the better, hopefully you get the later.
Sanskrit
When you practice you will hear Sanskrit words now and again. Each pose name has one. For example, Tadasana is the Sanskrit word for Mountain Pose. The first part of that word, “tada” means mountain and the second part “asana” means posture or pose. During class, if you encounter an unfamiliar word ending in “A”, such as Savasana, Utkatasana, or Bitilasana it’s probably a Sanskrit pose name. If it ends in "S" such as hamstrings, quadriceps, or triceps, it's probably a fitness term. Hearing Sanskrit helps transport you away from your everyday thinking and drops you off in asana land.
Yoga Studios
LEGO Instruction
If your body were a car, the yoga studio would be the car repair shop. They’ll do a stress test, work on your hamstrings, increase your circulation, and fix you up. When you’re done, you’ll be road-worthy again—ready to deal with life’s potholes: energy tolls, getting cut off by a coworker, and roads getting closed down because of construction. The studios will charge you an arm and a leg, but it will be more through stretches than money.
Life’s rough challenges are akin to poorly maintained roads. They break your body down, necessitating a return to the studio for a stress flush and energy reset. If you do yoga for long enough, you will improve your body and feel like a new car with better features. For example, if you develop better balance from doing Tree Pose, it’s like having anti-lock brakes to help you avoid clumsy accidents.
To help people grasp the concept of unity in yoga, I often use LEGOs as a visual aid. The many similarities between yoga and LEGOs make it an accessible and relatable way to learn and understand the practice.
Examples of how yoga is a lot like LEGOs:
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You build a pose from the ground up, just as you build a Lego set from the base up.
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In yoga you try to not lose control of your breath. In LEGOs, you try not to lose a piece during construction.
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Both are easier to replicate if you have instructions.
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Stepping on a LEGO set and stepping on a person doing yoga can both cause you to fall over.