Day Thirteen

Lineage.  It's a word often used when referring to your personal family history and requires a look at those that came before you in order to gain an understanding of your culture and background.  In yoga, it's just as important to learn about the yogis and gurus who came before us to realize why it is we practice the type of yoga we do, and how it came to be.  


When I first decided to attend a hot yoga studio in Orange County I did what any tech savvy young adult does these days - I yelped it!  (For those of you not familiar with the online service, Yelp is essentially like Yellow Pages but with customer feedback).  Huntington Beach Hot Yoga came up as the clear winner so I decided to attend their 20 days for $20 promotion - smart marketing!  Prior to my first visit in October of 2010, I had attended a Bikram yoga class so I was somewhat familiar with the postures.  


Yet through these last couple of days in teacher training I have gained more knowledge as to who this guy Bikram is, where and who he learned yoga from, and what exactly the Dayton method is (currently practiced at HBHY).  My instructor/guru, Jason Wilkerson, studied under Bikram Choudhury who founded the Yoga College of India and is well known for his series of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. Interestingly enough, Bikram began practicing yoga at the early age of three and won numerous competitions, eventually named "Yogi Raj" (King of the Yogis).  But seventeen years later he was crippled as a result of a weight lifting accident and doctors told him he would never walk again.  Six months later, Bikram was up and about - crediting his system of Hatha Yoga.


There are plenty of other "founders" in the yoga community who came before  Bikram (and much more on him as well).  In fact, during Philosophy class on Tuesday we were able to pick a person off the lineage tree and prepare a short presentation on them for today.


 


For those of you who practice at HBHY and have wondered what the "Dayton Method" really is, it was founded on the knowledge that Jason received from Bikram and adapted into a series of 28 postures and 2 breathing exercises practiced in a heated room.  Dayton is a family name and thus the reason Jason named his practice as such.  If you're newer to yoga and haven't practiced the Dayton method yet, I highly suggest you give it a try!  


I cannot say enough about how yoga has changed my life for the better. It's such a beautiful and spiritual connection to your mind and body. And ultimately, it brought me out of the grey cube and into something that I am excited to wake up each day to and be a part of.  I hope you share the same enthusiasm in whatever it is that you live for each day!


_Peace and Love