A yoga posture can be simply a mechanical action, an exercise. That's fine if that is what you want. Is that what you want? If you desire more, then begin not by diligently forcing yourself into the forms, but let the forms emerge from you. 

We receive gravity as well as we give into gravity. It's an exchange that lifts us away from the earth itself. It´s a rebound in relationship. 

Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen

The state of yoga has possibly always been first and foremost a niche phenomenon - in our age of restlessness and digital overwhelm it certainly is.

Yoga is the state in which the movements of the thinking self merge into a dynamic stillness.

Yoga Sutra, translation into German (original): Sriram

I find this translation of the second verse of the Yoga Sutra to be a gem. For me it is obvious, with my background in Craniosacral Biodynamics, where 'Dynamic Stillness' is one of the central concepts. But what I like even better about it is the fact that, unlike most other translations, it doesn't include an element of ‘doing’. 

The concept of ‘practising’ yoga is not one that I personally am very comfortable with. I practise dutifully and regularly because whatever I do regularly and diligently, I inevitably get ‘better’ at... seriously? In my experience - of course it's nothing more but nothing less than my own personal experience, but it's the only one I can draw on - yoga doesn't necessarily ‘work’ like that. Yoga is a state and not an achievement; perhaps an attainment, but not one that necessarily arises from diligence only. A state of grace presents itself or not. Effort and a sense of duty can be stumbling blocks, precisely because the ego likes to attach itself to forms and ideas.

The state of yoga, as I experience it, is a shy animal. I can approach it cautiously. I can invite it to settle and unfold within me for a while before the noisy world or my own restlessness sends it fleeing again. It is unrealistic for it to stay with me permanently. But every time I immerse myself in it, it nourishes me deeply.

The state of yoga can (I believe: must) be experienced in the body and through the body. We are born as physical beings and can learn to make the most of this. Although the gymnastic element has left my classes through the back door over the years, my approach is still thoroughly ‘somatic’, i.e. body-oriented. I frame it as an invitation to create conditions in the body that are conducive to experiencing the state of yoga, to open up spaces in the body in which it can dwell. A somatic approach allows forms to grow from the inside out and offers alternatives where patterns want to solidify due to unconsciousness and/or attachment. ‘Progress’ on the path manifests itself as an increase in devotion and trust in the wisdom of the body, in the radical turning towards it in order to grow beyond it into the state of yoga without losing oneself in the process. 

Is it possible to have a different attitude in which a new intelligence not imposed by authority, but born from interest, attention and sensibility, will emerge and in which body and mind, fused in one single action, are collaborating together.

Movement is the song of the body.

Vanda Scaravelli

As I progress on my own path, I feel a deep sense of gratitude towards my teachers who introduced me to the alternative world of yoga inspired by Vanda Scaravelli which accompanied me for many years. I was able to take along many important insights from each of them and transform them for myself. Every suggestion on how to help the spine come alife offers an extremely valuable impulse to feel safe and at home in one's own axis. 

In Feldenkrais practice, I find a cornucopia of possibilities for using small and simple movements to awaken new connections in the body. I am fascinated by the effects this can have on my emotional state, my ability to live life and to react flexibly to changing demands. A wide range of movement stimuli is offered to ‘expand the limits of what is possible; to teach him that he can also do what he is capable of; to make the impossible possible, the difficult easy, the easy pleasant.’ (Moshe Feldenkrais)

Applied anatomy, for example in the form of Body Mind Centering, is another great source of inspiration for me, with its focus on the qualities of all body systems that can be experienced, beyond the musculoskeletal and respiratory systems. Tuning in to the organs, for example, opens up surprising possibilities and spaces for exploration. Learning in BMC is defined as a ‘dialogue between present cellular and past experience stored in the nervous system’. (Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen)

And finally, I love to travel way beyond the culturally formed anatomy (which enables us to function satisfactorily in our everyday lives). The term 'cultural anatomy' goes back to Emilie Conrad, founder of the somatic movement art Continuum Movement, which is closely related to Craniosacral Biodynamics. Here it is possible to experience states of 'primordial anatomy' and even 'cosmic anatomy' that go way beyond densities and conditioning, bring the body back to it´s original fluidity and allow the social nervous system to blossom. 

So there´s quite af few things that blend into my teaching to help the bodies of my students become receptive to the state of yoga. I never know where the journey will take me next. The path opens up through walking it boldly and meeting inspiring people along the way. And so my classes are an invitation to accompany me on this journey of discovery. In this way, we can all explore and grow together, and have our own authentic impact on the world.

And in the end, in my opinion, it is still yoga that it all boils down to... 'the state in which the movements of the thinking self merge into a dynamic stillness'.

So you have to be your own teacher and your own disciple, and there is no teacher outside, no saviour, no master; you yourself have to change, and therefore you have to learn to observe, to know yourself. This learning about yourself is a fascinating and joyous business.

Jiddu Krishnamurti