Interview in El País Semanal.

Yoga, much more than a trend

“In our Western way of life, we live under virtually chronic physical stress, segregating adrenalin, with our breathing accelerated and our muscles tense. Our state is similar to living in the jungle and being chased by a tiger, ever ready to flee. This state generates permanent muscular tension and we lose our physiological relaxation response, which from lack of use ceases to exist. With yoga we realign our body correctly from an anatomic-physiological perspective; we readjust our posture as well as our breathing. Aided by breathing and the asanas or postures, that stretch the muscles, we re-train the body and thus the pains and tensions disappear.”    

To those who think that yoga, currently soaring in Spain, is apt for actors, models and dancers who must flaunt a perfect body, or for followers of exotic oriental trends, Marta Mahou’s comments may sound strange. But his 47-year old yoga teacher, who brought to Spain the famous Iyengar method, knows very well what she is talking about. Mahou was a young medical student when the scoliosis she suffered, which forced her to wear a raised insole in her shoe, brought her to yoga.

However, the classes bored her and she decided to discover yoga at its source, India. “As a philosophy there is only one yoga, but there are many masters who have enriched its practice with their personal philosophy. The asanas, postures -what we are familiar with in the West- are only one aspect of yoga. Through them we can reach a high level of physical health which enables us to move onto the following phase of breathing control. And there are another three phases until the last one, enlightenment.” This oriental philosophy changed when the Indian master Iyengar, teacher to Yehudi Menuhim who introduced him to the West, completely revised the asana texts and created a revolution in the yoga concept.

“Westerners fell in love with the physical aspects of yoga, a practice better adapted to our body and mindset. Iyengar introduced a series of stand-up postures which prepare you for the last phase. We spend our lives sitting in chairs and are not going to suddenly start sitting on the floor, in the lotus position, where our knees would hurt,” explains Mahou, a direct disciple of Iyengar and capable of placing her supple body in postures that would be impossible for the majority of westerners. “A person who practices yoga is someone who is suffering, physically or mentally, and wants to find a solution on their own. And the person realizes that helping oneself through yoga, the more one practices, the better one feels, one grows from within.”

 

Nervous and muscular tension  

Yoga is suitable for problems originating from posture, conscious or unconscious muscular tensions, arthritis, osteoarthritis, or arising from anxiety and nervousness, or digestive issues.

“It’s not miraculous,” says Marta Mahou, “but yoga is a therapy you can practice anywhere. To practice asanas you only need a mat and enough space for the length of your body.” A practice that is useful to keep fit, relax and breathe properly, and can be an effective ally to natural medicine therapy as long as it is practiced properly. “Wrongly practiced yoga is not good for your health, let’s be very clear on this,” says Mahou, who cannot understand how in Spain anyone can call themselves a yoga teacher, or how students never ask about a teacher’s professional qualifications. “The problem is the profession is not officially regulated, and through this gap many unqualified people practice. This is why doctors are unsure about recommending it.” Mahou’s yoga classes, attended by doctors and ballet dancers, have helped many of her students do away with problems or improve their ailments.