Foundations for Flow

When I talk about surfing with people who haven't tried it, I often hear, "Wow, that must take a lot of balance." Actually, balance is the end game--a flourish at the finish. A surfer's journey onto a wave starts with courage and fortitude, paddles through a tremendous amount of strength and swim training, and requires methodical study of waves and currents. That magical place of balance, that few seconds of ride that photographers capture, comes when a surfer's momentum synchronizes with the ocean's energy. It takes tremendous commitment and practice to finally reach this spectacular moment of suspension on water. You can't just pop into  balance on a board and expect to ride.

Similarly, a yoga pose (asana) is a much richer experience than the placement of body parts into a particular shape. And this is why a practitioner at any level can benefit from a well-structured foundations class, where asanas are built and understood from the inside out. Resting at the core of each posture is intention, an energetic presence where projections of the mind are illuminated by action from breath and muscle. Once you feel the origin of a pose, you can access the energy that radiates from that point. Sometimes the energy spirals or bows. Sometimes it flows in straight lines. Feeling and visualizing the angles, swirls and lines helps the torso, limbs, breath and mind slide into synchronicity. You can feel the waves and currents of your own body. You are not imposing a form onto the body, but growing a form from within yourself. As the form gains strength, you can begin adding more complicated adaptations without losing the ease from which the original pose was born. If you skip these steps and rush to the peak of a pose, you risk getting injured, but also you miss the best part of the ride. As defined by the Yoga Sutras, postures are "steady and sweet." When you develop a pose with patience and commitment, you feel strong, comfortable and confident. Jon Kabat-Zinn wrote, "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." With the right foundation, your yoga stoke can give you the ride of your life.