Om, sweet om Orono instructor reveals power of yoga

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I looked around the room, sneaking glances in the mirror and furtively glancing at the women on either side of me as I tried to lengthen my spine and relax my legs at the same time.

I was supposed to be meditating, and peeking while you’re meditating works about as well as kissing with your eyes open. But I just couldn’t get it. My back kept cramping up, my posture was laughable, and any attempt at relaxation flew out the window as my bony butt dug into the purple mat below.

“What am I doing here?” I thought, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to empty my head. “I can’t even touch my toes, for crying out loud.”

Then it happened. Following the advice of my yoga instructor, Sandy Cyrus, I acknowledged the thought, pushed it aside, and focused on the rhythm of my breath as it rose and fell along my spine.

Not nirvana, but not bad, either.

Anyone who has taken a yoga class knows that instant gratification is not the name of the game. You’re not going to look as buff as Christy Turlington after a week. You’re not going to be able to turn yourself into an upside-down pretzel right away, either.

With a little work, some intense concentration and a dedication to your practice, you will start feeling more relaxed, your thoughts will become a bit more clear and you will become more attuned to your body.

“What you’re really doing is going back to yourself as a child in preschool,” Cyrus said after class in her Orono studio. “We’re rolling around on the floor. We’re making noise and we’re being completely in our bodies. It’s really natural.”

Yoga, a Sanskrit word that translates as “union,” began nearly 5,000 years ago in India as a way to experience spiritual enlightenment through the integration of body and mind. In the United States, most instructors teach hatha yoga, a discipline that focuses on asanas, or postures, and pranayamas, or breathing exercises, to achieve that union, according to Yoga Journal.

“When you’re practicing postures, the idea is to breathe, relax, feel, watch and allow,” Cyrus said. “Some yoga philosophies say that there’s only one way to do the position. This is very customized, very gentle, with a stress on safety.”

Cyrus has worked with students who have multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis, offering modifications that accommodate their needs. Though many people assume you have to be flexible and athletic to take yoga classes, that’s not the case.

“It’s basically, ‘What do you want your practice to do?'” Cyrus said. “Where do you want to go?”

In recent years, the practice has enjoyed a swell in popularity, thanks in part to the sleek physiques of such celebrity devotees as Gwyneth Paltrow, Sting, and the supermodel Turlington. In the Bangor area, there are at least five instructors (see sidebar for information), and if the proliferation of yoga gear and clothing at local department stores is any indication, the trend is catching on in Maine.

“A blanket and a pillow and a towel with a rubber band around it is all you need,” Cyrus said in response to the “yoga kits” that have popped up everywhere from Wal-Mart to T.J. Maxx.

If you want to pick up a matching pink mat, strap and blocks, it’s not going to hurt, as long as you bring them to class, rather than let them collect dust in the closet.

“People are still going to get the benefits whether they come to be trendy or not,” Cyrus said.

While many people turn to yoga in search of a better body, they usually end up getting a lot more than firmer abs. The class I’m in addresses the body, mind and spirit. We start with meditation, practice a series of asanas, wind down with savasana, a.k.a. the corpse pose, which basically requires you to become so relaxed that you melt into the floor. To close, we do a quick “om” chant, and then Cyrus ends with a prayer for peace and clarity.

“A lot of people don’t come seeking anything spiritually,” Cyrus said. She told of a student who originally came for physical reasons, but was surprised how much she enjoyed the meditation. “I try to introduce those elements slowly.”

The spiritual side of yoga can drive people away at first – the thought of chanting “om” in front of a group of people you hardly know can be a bit daunting, even if it’s good for you. According to Yoga Journal, a New York cardiac surgeon has found that reciting the “sacred syllable” aloud slows the breath rate, which in turn can lessen the risk of heart attacks or strokes. But that doesn’t make it any easier to shed your inhibitions at first.

“There’s a lot of skeptics out there and some of them are in my classes,” Cyrus said, laughing. “I felt a certain cynicism about it before I started taking classes. I thought it was spiritual mumbo-jumbo. It does in fact have a spiritual aspect to it, but … it’s not a religion, it’s a spiritual practice.”

Cyrus started taking yoga classes for the same reasons many people do. She was stressed out. Her life was in a period of transition and she needed time to focus on herself. So she practiced once a week with Barbara Lyon at River City Dance Studio in Bangor.

“I was, in the back of my mind, probably like a lot of people in this class,” Cyrus said. “I obviously liked it and recognized the benefits.”

About two years ago, she decided to take her practice to the next level by training to become an instructor. Kripalu, the Lenox, Mass.-based training center she planned to attend, required her to practice daily for six months before she could enroll. That’s when things really started to get interesting.

“I felt so much better and I got along so much better with my family and I started handling things that used to overwhelm me better,” Cyrus said. “I think it impacted my family relations for sure.”

Her time at Kripalu became a life-changing experience, both physically and mentally. Little aches and pains seemed to melt away, she began to sleep more soundly, and the things that used to bother her – well, they still bothered her sometimes, but she learned to accept it and let go.

“I came to accept my life as a constant process of recommitting and rededicating,” Cyrus said. “It was really impossible to fail. You just keep supporting people and keep giving them what they need and you keep nurturing that inner wisdom and they just blossom.”

That’s what yoga is all about. I wanted to take classes for years, but I figured I wouldn’t be any good at it, seeing as I’m about as flexible as a lead pipe. The thing is, you don’t have to be good at it. Yoga isn’t competitive, and no one cares if you’re not as limber as the person next to you. You just have to be good to yourself. Be aware. Breathe. Thank your body. If your body isn’t cooperating, give it a break and let go. And if all else fails, just say “om.”

“You don’t have to believe it,” Cyrus said. “Just try it and see what happens.”

Bangor area yoga teachers

. Barbara Lyon, 941-2344. Lyon teaches at River City Dance Studio, YWCA, the Hammond Street Senior Center and Gold’s Gym in Bangor, and a class for faculty and staff at the University of Maine in Orono.

. John Yasenchak, 941-8447 or yogamaine@aol.com. Yasenchak teaches at the Keith Anderson Community House in Orono and the Golden Zephyr Studio in Brewer.

. Bunny Barclay, 843-7855 or r.barclay@att.net. Barclay teaches at Northern Lights Dance Studio and Well Forms in Brewer and Bodyworks Day Spa in Hampden.

. Lou Cappiello, 862-4093. Cappiello teaches at Eastern Maine Medical Center and Acadia Hospital in Bangor.

. Sandy Cyrus, 866-4103. Cyrus teaches at Full Circle Yoga Studio in Orono.