image taken from elephantjournal.com
Yoga Vida have two lovely studios in Manhattan. The style is vinyasa flow, with upbeat tunes in the background and gorgeous instructors!Before the flow sequence begins, the teacher gives a little 'intention' or topic for the class. This is a really nice way to consider mental and emotional qualities of yoga, and seems to be a gentle reminder to the Lululemon clad New Yorkers that yoga is beyond creating a svelte physique.
One of the teachers spoke about Rajas, Tamas and Sattva. Basically, these three qualities, or gunas, make up all creation; so physical objects, food, people, thoughts, weather, environments, places are all made up of these qualities, usually one dominates, but they can be ever changing.
Rajas is fast moving, active, energetic.
Sattva is calm, cool, clear, peaceful and harmonious
Tamas is inertia, dull, sluggish.
Yoga reflects our lifestyle. Sometimes your practice may feel heavy, dark and sluggish (tamasic), other times you feel revved up (rajastic), and then there's the days when you feel light, calm and open (sattvic).
A city like New York could be described as Rajastic. People need a certain amount of Rajas to survive or succeed here. Determination, drive and motivation are all part of this city. Rajas isn't necessarily a negative quality, it's what keeps motivated, but in general there is too much rajas in Western lifestyles. The intention for this class was to bring more sattvic qualities into the practice, and of course into the rest of the day.
Keep balance on and off the mat and consider the gunas next time you do yoga.
