IT'S A MANZ WORLD

DOWNWARD DOG - Note: Most of my Manz World stories are fictionalized accounts of how the painting shown here came to be. However, some of the stories are rooted in truth.

I was in my early thirties when I began doing yoga. Up to that time I knew nothing about it. It was a friend of mine, Susan, who told me about attending a local yoga class. She raved about the experience, saying that after only a few sessions she felt much more limber, even stronger. “Plus,” she added, “it’s a lot of fun.” It was then that she invited me to a class, saying she thought it would do me some good.

Having not been terribly athletic in my younger years—I actually thought of myself as a ‘klutz’—I turned down her invitation. However, not one to give up, Susan continued in her wish to have me join a yoga class. She made her sessions sound so tantalizing that I eventually gave in and went to a free introductory class. With Susan sitting beside me, the teacher—a lady named Linda—welcomed a group of about 12 newbies to her studio. In a calm, soft-spoken voice she explained what yoga was and that, if done correctly and within the limits of the person’s ability, anyone could do it. She then proceeded to show us some yoga poses, explaining some of the finer details of how to breath and hold our bodies in each pose. After that brief instruction she led us through a series of poses, all done slowly and, surprising for me, ones I could do without much effort. At the end of about 40 minutes of twisting, stretching, bending and breathing, I felt great.

It took only that one introductory class to convince me that yoga would be something I could benefit from. And so, after that class, given the low ‘intro price’ offered, I signed up for a three month membership which allowed me to go to Linda’s classes up to three times a week. Once that 3 month time was up I was addicted to yoga. Just like Susan’s experience, I felt more limber and stronger in my body. I also felt one other result: I felt happier. Yes, yoga proved to be not only good for the body but for the mind, too.

I so enjoyed my yoga classes and the improvements I experienced from doing it that I decided to become a yoga teacher. After talking with Linda about my interest, and with her encouragement, I enrolled in a series of trainings at one of the leading yoga centers in America: Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health near Lenox, Massachusetts.

After approximately nine months and several trips to Kripalu, I was deemed a certified yoga instructor and had the certificate to prove it. With that certificate in hand and the knowledge that I had gained, I began to teach a class at Linda’s studio. Within several months I had a following of students which gave me the confidence to expand my yoga practice. I eventually rented space at a meditation center where, three evenings a week, I led an average of 10-12 people in a yoga routine.

One of the things I’ve learned over my many years is that I lived a privileged life. I am not rich, but my income was more than adequate for my needs. My parents, my church and my newly acquired knowledge of the philosophy of yoga taught me that, as a blessed person, I should ‘give back’ in some form. Over the years I have done that by teaching yoga in several venues—a church, a senior center and an assisted living center—all free of charge.

One other location where I gave free instruction was at a nearby nudist camp where I was a member. Every other Saturday morning, from late spring to early fall, I led a group of nudists in a hour long session of yoga. On a warm, sunny day that session would be done on the lawn in front of the recreation building. On a cool or rainy day my students and I did our yoga poses inside. It was there that I realized how wonderfully natural doing yoga naked was. Given that I enjoyed the experience as much as those who came to my class, I continued to offer those free sessions for four years, ending them only when I moved away and was no longer a member at that camp.

The painting shown here is one that is a popular pose in most any yoga routine. The pose is called ‘downward dog’ and, therefore, is the title of this painting. This painting illustrates what I would have looked like doing the pose when instructing at the nudist camp.