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Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi there, please excuse my ignorance. I’m new to all this. The physical aspect is what attracted me, but so has the spiritual and mind. I’m really looking forward to start my journey. However I have a couple of questions:

  1. Is it enough to get a yoga dvd/video and start from home? I wouldn’t mind going to lessons but I have checked and there are none nearby (as in a 10 mile radius) and I don’t drive.

  2. Alcohol. I’ve read this: “Yogis do not touch alcohol, since they consider it to lower the vibrations of their subtle body (astral body). This defeats the purpose of yoga, which is to increase the vibrational level so they can gradually unfold their Higher Self.”

I cannot give it up. I’m 21, clubbing + drinking once a week where my friends and I love to get merry. Now I’m wondering if this is the case, is yoga not right for me? Or is it still worth it? I have tried just drinking soft drinks in the club but it’s just not the same, and clubbing is a part of my life I don’t want to give up. Is there room for compromise?

  1. I still want to keep up my weight training. So I thought of doing something like WT Mon/Wed/Fri and Yoga Tue/Thur/Sat. Does that sound enough? For hour long sessions or something.

  2. The limited meat. Now because of the additional weight training my concern is the protein. From your experiences with mainly veggies and fruit, how has this affected you healthwise. From a bodybuilding POV (tho I’m not really built but it’s something I’ve been doing a long time) we’ve been preached about getting LOADS of protein. So I’m wondering have you experienced muscle loss with this kind of diet, or is that all just myth?

  3. I’m a nice guy, and don’t rise to fights. However, there’s going to be times when it’s unavoidable. You can’t sit there and let somone hit you. Now since following yoga helps you be at peace etc, I’m wondering how this fits in. Am I in the wrong to defend myself from someone who is threatening me?

Thanks for your patience and time,
Darran

#2

yoga merely offers some guidelines but never says you ‘should’ do anything. Just do the yoga and you’ll see your self shifting. You dont have to be a nondrinker or a vegetarian or anything to do yoga, however the more yoga you do the less you might find yourself doing those things. But even if you never change your life style, doing yoga will still help you. So it’s win/win!

#3

Hi all, I am new to this forum, and i wanted to reply to Darran’s post. Darran, your post could have been mine, only 5 years ago, only I am not 21 and certainly not ?clubbing?! I did not know why exactly I felt drawn to Yoga; my lifestyle was that of an aerobic dance instructor, highly competitive and very active and I enjoyed drinking too, and still do. What I would say to you, and I am not a teacher of Yoga and will never be one, is that Yoga changed my life internally, then externally. My answer would be yes, you can drink and be a Yogi. But the more you practice Yoga (not just asanas), the less drinking will appeal to you, especially too much drinking. And you can fight, but you will find that yoga will give you an inner peace and wisdom that is better than any punch or sword; it offers love to others and at the same time, protects you. And you can lift weights but you might find with the Asanas that lifting your own weight on a regular basis is enough. You might find that at first, it seemed to be only in your body that you experience new strength and flexibility, but you will find that something outside of your body gains these?..and there, for me, did the healing begin!
Namaste, and hello to all on this forum. It seems like a very helpful one!
Diane

#4

hi darren,
asanas is the physical approach to yoga. if i ask you to sit at one place and meditate on God, you might find it almost impossible. so hatha yoga tells about how u can go about this problem.
but the question you are raising is a philosophical one. and hatha yoga does not answer this. there is one major conflict between pleasure and hapiness. pleasure is experienced by the senses and is temporary and will only lead to pain. eternal hapiness lies in experiencing God. this conflict exists with every yogi. the first step is to accept this problem. now the conflict in you will reduce. then the next step is to use moderation - moderation in pursuing pleasure and simultaneously increasing your vigour in yoga. but how can you increase vigour? is it about stretching yourself more while performing asanas? obviously not. asanas is about sukham and sthiram. besides the conflict does not arise while performing asanas. it is in your daily life.
so is your commitment to performing asanas and achieving good health or achieving happiness? if it is for health as bestowed by asanas, then you need not worry much about eating vegetarian food and not drinking alcohol. just go and have a ball in life and just take the necessary precautions like not doing asanas immediatly after eating etc.