Everyone can give yoga a try

A few years ago, when I started writing this column, I had some very specific goals in mind. Actually, one very specific goal in mind. I wanted to make everyone understand that yoga is not meant for a select few freakishly flexible, constantly blissful, effortlessly levitating, vegetarian tree-huggers.

I wanted to see guys in NASCAR T-shirts and construction boots coming to class. I wanted to see inflexible former athletes, men and women in their 80s and 90s, kids, tense business people, hungover bartenders, college students and any other person who said they would never try yoga, that it wasn't for them, that they could never do it.

I wanted to be able to communicate to all walks of life that yoga is for everyone. Not every style is for everyone, but, for everyone, there is a style of yoga that will be a match.

Evidently, I have done a pretty lousy job at getting my point across.

When I was doing some ab work after a great yoga class and preparing for karate class, a friend of mine walked into the dojo to stretch and practice before class began. He, like everyone else at the dojo, knows that I write this column. They don't all read it, but they know that the column exists and I am its author.

He told me that everywhere he looks lately, there is an article about how yoga is good for you. I recalled having heard that somewhere before.

I told him that yoga is definitely good for everyone, but, especially as we get older and our bodies began to fail us in different ways, yoga can be the difference between aging as gracefully as possible and creaking and aching our way into old age.

I have given him, and many other students at the dojo who ask, suggestions for easy postures to accomplish various goals, including loosening up tight hamstrings, breathing techniques and learning to relax.

But most people, even those with the best intentions in the world, rarely wake up every morning and motivate themselves to do some stretching or breathwork. They might think: "I'll do it after work" and then, when that time comes, they find themselves tired or hungry or both, and yoga gets pushed to the back burner.

Such is life. Everyday life very easily can get in the way of a regular yoga practice, even a practice that is five or 10 minutes long. And that's OK.

Starting a yoga practice can be really intimidating. I know it used to scare the heck out of me. I would think about how I could never put a foot behind my head or do a handstand or jump from downward-facing dog into a seated position.

I was so busy looking into an uncertain future and not focusing on what I could do at the time. It took me some time, but I realized that, every time I tried a new posture and did it with relative competence, I would feel giddy. I found that if I worked hard on a more challenging posture and finally nailed it, even if only for a few seconds (or less), that I would still feel like jumping up and down and turning cartwheels.

The truth is, I really do like to work on complicated postures. I enjoy basic ones, too, but the ego in me does like to accomplish new and difficult poses. What can I say? I'm human, and this is one of my many flaws.

But you do NOT ever have to put a foot behind your head to practice yoga. As a matter of fact, most regular yoga practitioners can't. You don't have to be able to tie yourself into a knot or make yourself into a contortionist.

All you have to do is what you can do. It doesn't matter how complicated your poses are. You have to realize that rejoicing in the simple things, in how good it feels to get a good stretch on and to feel stronger and more centered, is possible for anyone. ANYONE. Give it a try. You might like it.

Try a class, try a video, try a private session or two or play around on your own. And don't be afraid to ask questions. I'll answer them — no matter where I am. I promise.

Suzanne Gannon is a yoga instructor in the Charleston area. Reach her at suzygannonyoga@yahoo.com.