An original article for To Find Health by Bobby Hoyt
As a yoga teacher, one of the statements I hear most often from people I ask if they practice yoga is, “you know, I tried yoga once in college, and it just wasn’t my thing….” .
My follow up question, so if the first taste of wine you had was ThunderBird, did you never try wine again? “Well, that’s different!!” Actually it’s not. Both yoga and wine are two of the oldest creations of civilization and have been around for thousands of years.
Using the wine analogy, there are many thousand of wine grapes used around the world.* Some people like Pinot Noir, or Pinot Blanc, or Blends, or Merlot, or ThunderBird, or… It comes down to what the individual personally likes. Everybody’s taste buds are different, so the wine is going to taste a little different to everyone, and so the choice falls squarely on the drinker. It can be a little intimidating when there are a few people tasting a bottle of wine and they ask you, what do you think of this?
Since wine has been around for sooooo long, there is obviously an endless amount of information out there and you will never be able to learn it all. Which of course can be overwhelming, but the most important thing with wine is that there is no right or wrong answer. If you someone pours you a glass of $500/bottle of wine and you don’t like it, no one can tell you that you do. (Plus, it will save you loads of money over your lifetime…) It’s what YOU like, not the price on the bottle.
You will also encounter all types of wine drinkers. When you taste wine with a sommelier, they tell you everything and more about that particular bottle. Other people will tell you, I like Pinot Noir because it’s the most difficult grape to make into wine. And of course, some people will tell you their favorite glass of wine is the one in front of them. But in the end what it comes down to is, What do YOUR taste buds like?
Back to Yoga. The same things can be said about Yoga.
Like the vastly different wines, there are so many different styles of yoga. So where to start? As always, you ask your friends, family, even the internet. Your friends can swear their teacher is the best, and you go to a few classes, it’s crowded, sweaty, and it’s the same poses every time. You go with another friend to their best teacher, and you’re pretty sure you see your grandmother in the back row. (Smart woman) It’s slow and the music is all ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-a-a-aa… You check the internet and type in Yoga and you get over 68 million pages to search. In the end, it’s what your particular body needs at that particular time in your life. Maybe it’s slow restorative class if your body is feeling tired, or a vinyasa class that has you sweating out of every pore of your body. Whatever style it is, the choice is yours. One of the differencse with wine is that this time, it’s not just your taste buds, but your entire mind and body.
Like wine, Yoga has been around for soooo long, that there is also an endless amount of information out there to learn. There is no right or wrong one to practice. Some people are reluctant to try a class because they don’t want to be the “newbie” when other people are floating 2 inches off the ground. I tell them, don’t worry; those floating people don’t even know you’re in the room with them. EVERYONE has gone to his or her first yoga class. Everyone in the room is sharing the experience of an individual growth, rather than a competition. Like wine, it’s what you like.
We’ve all heard how incredibly good yoga is for people. We’re blasted by the media of its incredible healing powers and blissful feelings. All of this is true. Yoga would not have lasted for as long as it has if it didn’t bring that and more. You are never too old or young to try yoga and you’ll be able to practice it anywhere.
I promise you that there is a yoga style out there that syncs with your body and mind. If you go to a class and you don’t like it, go again, if you still don’t like it, try a different teacher or style. You have a lifetime to practice, and it is called a practice, not a competition.
And for me, enjoying a glass of wine after a great yoga class is a celebration of the ages.
Bobby has been teaching yoga for 10 years in San Francisco, Florence, Italy, Vermont and of course the Big Island of Hawaii. Bobby made Pinot Noir in Sonoma with a college friend, who is a master wine maker, and sold it to a number of high-end restaurants in California, New York and France. Currently still teaching a number of times a week on the Big Island, in November 2009, he and a few friends opened Lighthouse Liquors in Hawi, HI…it’s all about balance.
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