Style: Power
Teacher: Mark Laham
Studio: Santosha Elgin

It's not about the positions. Last night Mark reiterated the same point many great yogis throughout history constantly stress. The actual physical asanas are less then 5% of what's transpiring in a yoga sequence. The most important is that which is invisible. Outside the spectral range of the human eye is where the real change is happening. This is a very foreign concept to the modern mind. In an action-oriented society the unseen is ignored.

The fact is no blinding light from God will shine down upon you from parted clouds once you master a posture. The asana is a tool, a technique which allows for the inner transformation. Even in all their complexity and diversity, the physical side of the practice is less important. Yoga is the science of the unseen. Every series of positions is like conducting an experiment in a lab using the scientific method. You follow a set procedure in order to hopefully arrive at a new understanding. It's a foray into the wilderness with a compass, plotting a course to new uncharted shores.

Blasted by my alarm clock early this morning, I caught myself imagining a day of teaching yoga instead of a day of work ahead of me. I have to admit, the idea of teaching has been in the back of my mind for a while, germinating and sprouting roots unnoticed. The nutrients of personal experience will no doubt tend to the seed of thought, and only time will tell when it will blossom and what fruit will end up on its vine. Back home in comfortable clothes with a cup of coffee, the idea of teaching is still hanging around me. Momentarily I'll be shutting my laptop and throwing my yoga bag over my shoulder yet again, setting off to the newly-discovered Santosha studio.