A message to my Yoga Download students: Study anatomy and Ayurveda! Both my personal practice and my teaching of yoga have benefitted beyond measure by investing time and energy in these studies to enhance my understanding and applicability of the practice to myself and others. By understanding the five-element and three-dosha systems of Ayurveda, anyone can rather quickly learn how to customize a yoga practice (and, in fact, virtually every aspect of lifestyle) to the needs of the individual, as well as to environmental factors such as the season and the time of day. And learning anatomy-based alignment technique, like looking under the hood of the machine or behind the magician's veil, empowers us to understand the mechanics of our own bodies as well as those of the practice, and to keep ourselves safe and progressing effectively in our physical and mental development. Of course, these systems can be difficult to understand alone, and are best learned from a teacher who has invested decades in studying them, which is why I am particularly happy about and proud of my Yoga Download videos in therapeutic alignment, anatomy and Ayurveda. They can quickly and easily help anyone gain significant understanding in these crucial areas of study without demanding too much time and effort.
How do you think can yoga help our world?
I do believe that yoga can help our world, but only if we expand our notions of strength, stability and flexibility to the mind, as well as the body. We need more strength, stability and flexibility than ever to carry us through challenging times. While there is no necessary correlation between the strength, stability and flexibility of the body and those of the mind, we certainly can - and I believe desperately need to - use our physical practice as a training ground for these crucial qualities of mind, as well. By practicing at our edges - even more so our emotional edges our physical ones - with determination and commitment, but also with gentleness, patience and equanimity, we can extend the benefits of yoga to include the mind as well as the body, and thence to effect all of our relationships and interactions. Then our practice will truly begin to positively ripple out to create a better world for us all.
What are your favorite places in the world. What do you love about them?
Oh, this is a hard one! I love traveling, especially to teach yoga and to connect with teachers that I have trained who live and teach across the globe, and I particularly adore Scandinavia, Israel (which I understand now has the largest percentage of yoga practitioners relative to population in the world!) and Australia & New Zealand; but my heart will probably always ultimately belong to Hawaii, which I have chosen as my home. While, of course, nowhere is perfect, this meeting place of East and West has given rise to a tolerant, peaceful and genuinely spiritual culture that offers nearly endless opportunities to connect with ourselves, each other, and nature. And speaking of nature, how can you beat being able to swim with dolphins in warm waters any day of the year? I am totally in love with these beautiful islands, and am grateful to be teaching here, both for the local community and for visitors to retreats and trainings from all over the world.
Learn from Shy right now, with his incredibly insightful yoga classes HERE!