When body mind e spirit Are in harmony, in an interconnected system, life flows more easily: according to the yoga, the most widely interpreted discipline of recent decades, if one follows the path laid out in the ancient Indian texts, transcending the boundaries of individual consciousness, one would reach a state in which everything one normally cares about would vanish.
Physical discipline is required to begin practicing yoga: performing controlled body postures, practicing breathing techniques, and bringing attention to nutrition. Asana yoga, the positions on the mat, feels good, calms the mind and brings balance to the energy level.
To begin with, we usually try the different styles that characterize the practice, from the traditional Indian system of theHatha Yoga at theAshtanga Vinyasa, from which dynamic practices are derived, to other contemporary styles such as the Yin Yoga with positions held for up to 5 minutes through which you exercise a Deep action on connective tissue.
Health and well-being are only a side effect of the practice of Yoga; tradition has it that it is a spiritual practice, a path between subtle worlds, those of the inner self.
“I personally believe that a yoga teacher must have these two basic characteristics: have a stable and continuous personal practice for years and always remain a student,” Angelo Marratzu, certified Yoga Alliace RYT 500 teacher, explains to us.
For him, the beginning was special: his uncle in Sardinia bound him as early as four years old in the lotus position, then, over the years, as a freediver has deepened the practice of Pranayama, the science of breath, and then later practiced and studied following the South Indian line of transmission related to the “father of modern yoga” Tirulamai Krishnamacharya.
Angelo Marratzu teaches Hata Yoga, Ashtanga Vinyasa and Yin Yoga: We went to practice with him at the
Sardinia Yoga Shala
summer and, at the end of class, we asked him a few questions.
How do you present yoga to those who have never practiced?
Yoga is a technology in the service of man. It can help you be a better person: by starting with a physical practice you can regain the “contact” you have lost with your body, and slowly, with constant practice you will be able, perhaps, to train your mind to quiet down. When you experience this stillness you will begin to live in the present moment and stop being so paranoid about what has been and what is to come.
What is your philosophy?
Do what you felt was right to do by listening to your heart, regardless of the reward you might get in return.
Is yoga therefore a path of transformation?
Absolutely! If you’ve been practicing for 10 years and have remained the same person, then you’ve only been doing gymnastics! You can stay for an hour in Pincha Mayurasana (balancing position on your arms ed.) but if you always keep yelling at the poor guy at the traffic light who doesn’t start right after the green light, I’m sorry but you’ve taken a big hit!
During the lecture you quoted master BNS Iyengar “A yogi should worship God, intimacy, infinity or Nature. If you worship demigods you are wasting your time,” what meaning do you give it?
It is no coincidence that BNS Master Iyengar was a student of Krishnamacharya: when he heard himself called a “guru,” he replied, “Don’t call me that, I’m just someone who knows a little more than you do.” Often the modern yoga world created demigods because it needed to feel guided by them, but then found that they were mere flawed men who had little that was divine.
I personally believe we should be grateful to the system that has been handed down to us for millennia and not to the messengers who brought the message. We always need someone to show us the way and can give us a hand when we get lost, but most of the journey should be done alone, because when you get to your destination you will be alone.
5 tips for practice
1) Do it! Yoga is one of India’s 6 Darshanas (systems of thought). The difference with the other 5 is simple: in order for you to understand this system, you must experience it. That is, you have to practice. You may become the world’s greatest academic, scholar, and connoisseur of all the texts of yoga practice, but if you are not a practitioner you can never understand it! This is not mathematics where you just need to know the theory; here what matters most is practice.
2) Remember that practice is not just Asana.
3) Yoga is not always sunshine and roses; throwing away our false securities may not be pleasant initially.
4) Feel free to experience different kinds of practice-it’s not the car you’re driving that’s important, it’s the journey you’re on. Some prefer to do it in a 4×4 pandino, some in a convertible.
5) If you are at the beginning of the journey, don’t ask yourself too many questions. Your task is only one: roll out that freaking mat and hop on it every day and you will see the answers come.
Angelo Marratzu
teaches in Sardinia in Nuoro and Olbia at Centro Yoga Quarto Charkra and the summer also at Sardinia Yoga Shala. He conducts teacher training courses between Olbia, Florence and Piacenza: from Dec. 27, 2019 to Jan. 2, 2020, he will be in Miri Piri, Piacenza, with HolisticNetwork for the 60-hour Full Immersion Yoga Continuing Education course.
