As we begin to imagine what life will be like in the post-pandemic era, the question on many people’s mind is this: Will the pandemic have a lasting effect on the practice and teaching of yoga?
Post-pandemic, will yoga practice and teaching go back to the way things were in the “good old days?” Or, has the pandemic forever changed the face of yoga?
In this free download, renowned yoga teacher Doug Keller shares his insights on these questions. Yoga has essentially gone through two different phases so far, Doug notes. But, he predicts, in the post-pandemic era, we will slowly emerge into what might well be a 3rd Age of yoga.
What characterizes this new 3rd Age of yoga? Which were the first two initial phases of yoga in the West? And, why might it actually be a good thing that we’re not just going back to the “good ole days?”
One of the main new things we will see in yoga, Doug predicts, is an increasing emphasis on the inner aspect of yoga practice.
With no options to practice with other students in studios during the pandemic, by default, many people settled into a much more inner-directed, personal practice.
This same trend is also evident in the increased interest in the many benefits of yoga for modulating nervous system functioning to invite more peace, inner calm and relaxation.
Going forward, Doug predicts, we will be much more focused on working with deeper structures in the body like the vagus nerve and the psoas muscle during our yoga practice.
By virtue of its intimate connection with the diaphragm, the psoas muscle is emerging as one of the important physical structures, which bridges both the physical realm as well as the mental-emotional realm.
Understanding this important connection and how to work with it in our yoga practice will become increasingly important in the emerging Third Age of Yoga, Doug believes.
You might be also interested in Doug Keller’s course: The Sensitive Psoas and Its Cohorts and Substitutes: Navigating Psoas Releases, and the Effectiveness of Stretches
