Yoga for life
Before you groan at yet another type of yoga available on the island, it really is worth pausing to question why so many people are hooked and what the benefits are
If you’ve rolled your eyes, huffed, puffed and thought about turning the page after seeing the word ‘Yoga’, your reaction is completely understandable. The hype, the popularity and the never-ending attention it is receiving is enough to leave anyone hoping it will just go away just like aerobics did in the 90s and pilates in the early 00s. But yoga isn’t anything new! People have been doing it for centuries and what we have now is the result of an excited group with enough yoga experience to understand that you too can receive all the benefits it has to offer.
One of those people is Korina Kontaxaki, a yoga teacher who has just opened the Yoga Life Centre in Larnaca, where a different type of this ancient holistic system is taught. “Rishiculture Ashtanga Yoga is one of the most complete, varied, holistic forms of yoga existing in the world today,” she says curled up on a couch with a green wall as a calming backdrop. “People shouldn’t be scared of the various types of yoga available out there because, at the end of the day, they are all based on the same structured systems for health and strength. All these types of yoga are merely decorations, modern adaptations.” She explains that Rishiculture Ashtanga is merely a combination of Ashtanga – “which is tougher and more body-tone concentrated” – and Hatha – “which is closer to the classic yoga taught years ago, concentrating more on breathing exercises”.
The Life Centre, consisting of a tea room, a waiting and changing room and a library is unlike most yoga studios. There’s a friendly, calming element to it, which is reinforced by Korina’s presence. “People often ask me how they are to know if a type of yoga is for them,” she says, “and I always tell them they will know if they like the teacher. You have to be able to trust and like the teacher. It’s very important, as is the fact that there should be no more than eight to ten people in one class.”
Talking about the hype yoga has been generating lately, Korina laughs and explains: “yoga is popular right now but yoga will be popular forever because of the remarkable benefits any human being can receive. It becoming so Americanised is hurting the system since people think it’s just another exercise fad but at the same time, having it talked about so much, has got people to classes and they’ve then realised what all the fuss was about.”
Yoga is indeed one of few methods that can help deal with and fight psychosomatic diseases; people are known to be cured of depression, migraines, stress, insomnia, hypertension and back pain. In fact, Korina also offers Yoga Therapy sessions. “I like to call it holistic therapy because instead of being bombarded with pills and other chemical substances, I look closely at the individual, learn as much information as I can about them and tailor a programme from which they will benefit in three weeks depending on the situation.”
Korina has been involved in yoga from the age of 11. Having experimented with many systems of yoga and meditation and teachers, she decided to go to India in 2006. “I was selected along with 12 other students from all over the world for Yoga Teacher Training in the Rishiculture Ashtanga Yoga system after two years of preparation and communication with the course teachers,” she explains. “It was like an army camp with no Western influences whatsoever! For seven months, for 24 hours a day, I was strictly disciplined, living and breathing yoga.”
Taught by a famous master of Tantra and Yantra, Dr Jonn Mumford, Korina also specialised in yoga for children. “As a volunteer, I taught children in schools and camps in villages in India,” she explains. “I wanted to do the same here in Cyprus but instead I have put together a programme that combines yoga with theatrical playtime.” Having experience in the world of theatre, it was only natural for Korina to attempt such a thing for children. “I’ve found that putting together the basic elements of yoga and theatre in a fun way teaches children natural ethical rules and teamwork.
“Yoga is a tested and structured system for health, balance of emotions, clearness of mind and spiritual development,” says Korina. “Its practices work constructively with the most important elements for health and strength: spine, nervous, circulatory and endocrine systems. It is also the safest and maybe the only way to activate and exercise the brain in a holistic manner. It fills the gap in managing forms of psychosomatic syndromes, which, until now, medical science has found difficult to treat.”
Whether the whole yoga system seems like a hoax to you or the spirituality of the matter is too much to handle, one thing is for sure and that is that we all wish for well-being, a stress-free life and a body to carry us, so why is yoga so hard to digest?
Yoga Life Centre: Nikodimou Milona & Gr. Afxentiou, Karithers court, apt 221, Larnaca (opposite American Academy school)
Tel: 24-623123/99-312710 (Korina also teaches Yoga for Children in Nicosia)
