Yoga with a stiff body & white leggings

(with a yoga exercise series / kriya for a flexible back, at the bottom of the page)

My teenage years were downright turbulent, for me and my "loved ones". The idea that I could handle the world on my own had grown so strong in a short time that I actually started doing it alone, very young. I hitchhiked through Europe alone and lived in squats. School was not interesting, I wanted to experience and meet. Because of my open-mindedness, many dramas passed me by, I did not see it, it did not affect me. I only became aware of that angel on my shoulder later, when my relationship with the world around me deepened and I could experience more compassion and understanding for the lives of others. When I was about 18 I took my first kundalini yoga class.

If you also want to get acquainted with (kundalini) yoga, this online lesson is a good start. The series of basic exercises for the back can be found at the bottom of the page.

To be honest, it wasn't love at first sight, because I didn't understand it, and surrendering to the moment and feeling with my (already) tense body and mind wasn't exactly my strongest side. The frustration of not being able to do something was often greater than the pleasure of not having to do anything and relaxing.

With horror at the white leggings of the yoga teacher and a lump in my throat with every mantra, an opening nevertheless appeared; a path became visible to me to a part of myself that I knew deep down was there, but which I could not reach and which I had never learned anything about.

The secret of yoga is... there is no secret.
Accepting yourself is the only way.

I remember ordering a book at the local bookstore, at the counter, without internet. It was the wrong book that really meant nothing to me: Something about chakras and kundalini energy. A second attempt brought me the Dutch Kundalini Yoga workbook by Hariang Kaur and I got started. The yoga teacher in me was born; I gave my sister yoga lessons in my small bedroom under the thatched roof. The "basic spinal energy series" was already my favorite then, I felt more balanced, as if my body was one whole again and I was simply more cheerful. It is an accessible series that you can do at any time of the day, and even fine on a chair if sitting on the floor is difficult for you.

It took years and years before I could sit on the floor. During the first day of my training (of 4 years) with Saswitha, all the students looked for the walls to lean against and the encouraging text of the teacher was that during the third year most people can easily sit on the floor all day. My right hip and lower back had become so stiff from the tension that I experienced my whole life, that my knees started to play up when sitting in lotus position. I learned to investigate this physical protest and to approach it with openness and gentleness. Breath round by breath round and millimeter by millimeter I was able to make space in that heaviest part of my body, the area with which you build the foundation of your life, your sense of groundedness and safety. There was and is a lot of work to be done there for me, for everyone I think and certainly in times when your world changes rapidly.

Many of the exercises in this series you will recognize as warm up exercises in yoga class. The entire series (in Dutch) can be found at the bottom of this page.

I moved a lot in my teens and lost a lot of stuff, or, as I see it now; I wasn’t really attached to it. But this book always moved with me and I still use it. The author of the book Hariang Kaur has been teaching the Kundalini Yoga teacher training in Enschede for over 25 years and I have been her assistant at the training since last year; during the lockdown every Saturday via Zoom.

Last Saturday morning, after many Saturdays of Zoom training days for the Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training, I had a free morning... and I spent these free hours on... yes... yoga . What else .

Have you tried the series of yoga exercises for the back? or do you recognize something of yourself in my journey as a teenager and yogi - in - the - making? please leave your comment below!!