Not My Mother’s Yoga

This is a beautiful, moving essay. Thank you for sharing so deeply. It inspires to try getting back to the mat once more.

Real yoga is about joining minds and opening hearts. Even though your mom is more advance, you are getting there Sasha!

My ex - well, that is how I think of her but no telling if she even remembers of me at all - was also from OH and first heard of eastern mysticism from her mom. Alas, they have had (her mom passed away a few years ago) a difficult relationship. She is very accomplished, physically and maybe even psychically, but I wonder they have ever resolved their relationship. If so, maybe she has finally arrived at some milestone. If not, what's the point

What a beautiful and inspiring essay! It brought tears to my eyes! Your mom will be so proud! Makes me want to return to yoga again!

I loved reading your story. Aren't we lucky to have had such wonderful Moms?
I miss my Mom every single day. Namaste.

I was really excited when I read your article. My mother was also a yogi beginning in the early 1970s. Ironically my mother found yoga thru her attempts to care for her schizophrenic brother. The books only made him a bit more anxious, so my mother took the books and voila, became a yogi.
When she began to teach I would think " how can anyone relax with my mother!!" I was wrong..At night I sometimes came home to find her upside down in a headstand with her nightgown fallen over her face..she used to ask me to exercise with her and I would usually say I was too tired. I would go to my room and I hear her doing the breath of fire and fall asleep. I wish she were here right now and she would ask me to do some postures with her again..this time I would gladly do anything she wanted to do! I miss her so.

Your essay I will save and read over and over.

Lovely ...yoga was recommended to me when I was in my 20's. I was not interested finally in my 50's I discovered how wonderful a yoga practice can be. I am now a grandmother and encourage even the yongest to try it. Namaste

This was a lovely tribute. Namaste!

Sorry for your loss.

Your article came to me at the perfect time! I have found yoga since moving to Qatar 2 years ago, and it has been a continuous journey into a more fulfilling life and greater ability to cope with the adversities of living in a place where I have less freedoms. I have been trying to involve my teenage children into yoga, and although they have tried, it is not their thing, which like your mom, I also understood. But yesterday I got into a huge argument with my son because I wanted to start a gratitude practice before meals, and he flipped out. He was angry that I was trying to push this yoga stuff into him, and that he just didn't want to do it. I am still digesting our discussion, but I have to recognize that each individual has to find their path at their time, and reading your article comforted me greatly. Thanks for sharing! And all the best to you in your journey.

What a beautiful tribute to your Mother. A perfect meshing of two lives into one.

This is a beautiful and touching essay! Yoga is my medicine and my practice; I am slowly getting back to it after being unable to attend regular classes for the past four years (I try to practice at home but it is hard to find the time with two small kids) and it has been so, so good. I love that there is something I always learn from it.

Hi Sasha:
Your essay touched me deeply. We're so different but yet I feel so connected to your feeling. I'm a runner but I really suck big time in yoga. But now I'm going to give myself a second chance. Thank you for your moving essay. Your mother will be so proud of you.

What a lovely beautiful way to infuse and honor your mother's spirit into your daily life. It will be so interesting to see how your yoga practice continues to evolve and illucidate. She sounds like a weirdo person I wish I knew.

I've gotten so much joy from reading this story, and also the stories shared in the comments! Yoga has helped me realize that I need to practice vulnerability, both on and off the mat. I need to stop assuming I have all the strength I need and learn to ask for and accept help. I used to think strength meant dealing with all my problems on my own. Sometimes it takes even more strength to reach for someone's hand, to take a modification, to let go of your ego.

Namaste, fellow readers.

Since 50% of your mother is present in 50% of you, I believe your mother has already moved forward and changed her yoga routine.

Lovely story. Yoga is so many things wrapped into one, mind and body, and eventually soul.

Thank you for telling a great story.

As a runner, I've come to rely on yoga (especially power (like Baptiste) yoga) to keep me safe. It helps me build core and balance...

but it also helps me with the things you note: patience, tolerance, humor. When I miss too much, I am out of sorts. I used to think of myself as a runner who does yoga but as I go along, I see them as part of the same experience. I am also always a yogi who runs.

Thank you.

My mother did yoga in the 60's. She was WAY ahead of her time. I think of her when I practice often. I do therapeutic bodywork and tell my clients that yoga is no longer "optional" after age 50. Yoga will maintain the flexibility of your body as you age. It is truly a gift. Thank you for sharing your moving story. namaste

Nice story. I am a yoga instructor and doing the workouts for years. It really help me to awaken the positive energy in my own self. While meditating, I can become more involved with me. It helps me to stay in the present moment by controlling the thoughts and I can ignore any kind of distraction. I meet many people who find it really tough challenge to hold the postures and continue the practice but I always try to encourage them to continue the practice as I know after some days of practice they will find the workouts easier and will enjoy it.

Nara
http://www.anamayaresort.com

Thank you for sharing your story & memories in such a lovely and inspiring essay.

I'm so sorry you didn't have your mom longer; I'm sure she would love to practice with you now. Beautiful story, and a wonderful tribute to your beautiful mom.

Thank you for this beautifully moving and well written memory piece.

I began practicing yoga in the early 1980s in conjunction with what were then daily runs in Central Park. After I moved to LA I drifted away, practicing inconsistently on my own or with one instructor or Ashtanga classes. In the last 8 years, however, I have re-integrated the practice, taking class or working on my own 2-3 times per week.

Nowadays, I do yoga because it keeps my injured body mobile and my mind more quiet. Yet I have another motive: when I do yoga, I am a better person.

We need more people like your mother in the world! Yoga got me through graduate school and I don't practice like I used to. However, every now and then I do a series of poses and I can feel my body exhale afterward.

Your mother continues to speak to you and through you. What a gift that you have that communication, as well as the talent to share it with others both in your practice and your writing.

I too grew up with my mother's yoga.... yes, how it has changed! And I too came to yoga through a circuitous path and eventually became a teacher. Your words made me cry... thank you. You mom was a wonderful guide for you. My momma is still alive and I was grateful to have her attend one of my classes (a slow, restorative flow) and that was one of my most cherished moments as both my mom and my daughter were practicing with me.

Americans need to travel outside their country. They need exposure to other cultures in their settings of origin. In elementary and middle schools social studies curriculum need to be enriched with studies of world cultures, including eastern, especially learning about their "gifts" to collective humanity. Americans assume nothing lies outside America but poor people, warring nations and misery. Open your eyes, fellow Americans and smell the coffee or tea.

This was a sweet and moving yoga journey. Your beautiful mom gave you the gift of yoga and you were wise enough to see the treasure that it was. My mom gave me yoga books when I was seven to help with my gymnastics and while the gymnastics went the way of all things, yoga became my spiritual path, sustaining me for over fifty years. I too, gave yoga to my children and so it goes.

Thanks for a lovely read.

Inspires me to face challenges better, and to remember gifts of maternal love with gratitude.

Thank you for this great article. I had a weirdo mother too and I miss her like crazy.

This was a lovely tribute and personal story.

Great article. I love yoga and practice 5 x a week. I have severe asthma, yoga calms it down and focuses me.

This made me cry and smile. So incredibly beautiful. The world would be a better place if more people approached life like your mother.

Thank you for this article. Such a beautiful and simple way yoga can transform and lead to a happier existence on the planet.

Thank you, Sasha. Well done.

Thank you for sharing!