Yoga can provide a space for our human drive to seek meaning, context and value in this wondrous experience which is life. With yoga, we can explore philosophical and ethical approaches that can nourish this longing. Yoga can touch on more existential questions that touch on ethics and our place in the world or questions that touch our health, for example.
Yoga’s rich philosophical tradition has its origins in Eastern philosophy, where Hinduism and Buddhism influenced and developed the multi-faceted approaches to yoga that are practiced today. Classical Yoga literature and philosophy are around 2500 years old and are based on traditions that can enrich and give new perspectives to Western perspectives on existence. In the East, a holistic view of human dominates; where body, soul and intellect are a whole and in a constant interaction unlike in Western culture where they are considered as separate entities that many times have nothing to do with each other.
Classical Yoga can be described as a way to gain insight into oneself and life, where the physical practice is only a small part of what coin the concept of yoga. Modern yoga has developed around the physical yoga exercises and their positive effects on well-being, stress management, fitness and health. Yoga is today strongly connected with an ideal of beauty and the idea of the perfect body. By including philosophy in our yoga practice, yoga can gain a value base that is not based on disciplining the body to perfection but instead exploring possible approaches to ourselves and life. Perhaps this is where yoga can be different from other physical forms of exercise or today’s today’s capitalist body culture; even existential aspects of existence are allowed to take place and a holistic view of being alive is examined.
ElinMaria’s yoga teaching integrates an exploratory and philosophical approach to life’s big or small questions where there are no obvious answers. I think it is just as important for us humans to create room for existential wonder as it is to consolidate resources for well-being in life. I’m curious to make a holistic approach graspable for the context we now live in and then practically feasible; through body and mind. The philosophical nuggets that I share here are not only from the classical literature of yoga, but have their inspiration equally from modern Buddhism, mindfulness and somatic practice. I convey philosophy with an investigative approach to enrich and create a curiosity about yoga and life and I skip dogmatic signs. In my classes, a humble exploration of both body and bud is encouraged, where not infrequently humor is also given space when we engage with philosophical statements and approaches.
What I hope when you come to yoga with me is that you get a space to most of all just be; into the body and the present where there is an experience of consciousness that is not just the constant default mood of the intellect. At the same time, I want what you take with you from the yoga mat to be grains of thought and questions that can create a curiosity and wonder about how you want to live your life.
With me you may, if you wish, explore;
– What do you hold sacred and how do you want to take care of what you love in your life?
– How do I relate to myself and what I experience here and now; in the body, mind, thoughts and feelings?
– How do I experience it when I deepen my contact with body, movement, breathing, position and gaze?
– What happens when I contemplate a holistic approach to body and soul; myself in interaction and relationship with the outside world?
– How can compassion and non-violence change my perspective and approach to life?
– In what way can yoga be a resource for facing life as it is with all its moments of both suffering and happiness?
– How can Eastern philosophies be an inspiration to create more wonder, care, compassion and meaning in my own life?