My First Yoga Session

I remember leaving after my very first Yoga session. There was a feeling that my tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints have been stretched out altogether. It felt as if I can feel all parts of my body, as if I had a higher sense of body-awareness. Before, I would get surprised that my leg has already been bruised, without even knowing how I got bruised. Hahaha! It’s funny, though quite alarming.

I took my first yoga session in the Ananda Marga Yogi house. Our instructors were monks and apprentice monks. They wear yellow-orange robes. Actually, my college professor gave me the contact details and address there. Her husband was an ex-monk. At that time, I didn’t know that monks can be ex-monks too, like priests! Anyway, they were an interesting couple. My professor taught archaic gods and goddesses myths and legends and she was interested in local spiritual literature. I remember her saying that her family didn’t approve of her marrying a monk but I guess they got used to it.

During the time I attended my first yoga session, I was having thoughts of being a bhikkhuni or female Buddhist monk in Tibet. Eventhough I was baptized as Roman Catholic, I had yearning feelings of communing with God through meditation and so I thought, yoga is like a prerequisite to deep meditation.

I knew for a fact that the body, mind, and soul are interconnected, so to achieve oneness with God, I had to make sure that my body, mind, and soul are whole; otherwise how can I achieve oneness with God if I myself am not in one whole piece? Yoga taught me that. The physical discipline trained me how to piece my mind with my body. As I inhaled gradually while counting 1-8, holding my breath for another 8 counts, and then gradually exhaling for another 8 counts and repeating that process - I felt one with my lungs and my mind. Combine that breathing repetitions while making the poses - I truly became aware of my body parts as I touch each one of these. My favorite basic pose is the cobra pose (bhujangasana) because it curved my spine backwards as it placed weight on my lower back. Oh what a relief after a long day!

Yours truly,

Margarette Si