I knew only a little of Simon Borg Olivier, the yogi. I had seen him at a Yoga charity event here or there and saw some of his posts or articles from time to time. I had looked some years ago at doing his Teacher Training, which due to his being a certified physiotherapist I was sure would be incredible. I really liked the title of his Masterclass brochuer, 'Connecting Your Life via Body, Breath, Movement and Mind'. The picture of Simon with his arms open and the light playing near his heart, really appealed to me.
He was beaming when he greeted the class and stood on top of a yoga platform. He went around and greeted everyone. He asked about physical and neurological injuries. I had never been asked about neurological injuries by a teacher before and found his approach very inclusive and warm, generous and enthusiastic.
Simon demonstrated postures, described anatomy and compared yogic systems. He provided the neurobiology of the brain and the parasympathetic nervous system which governs the immune and reproductive systems, among others. And as all good teachers do, he had a collection of stories and yoga jokes on hand. He described his own teachers as people in their 111th and 114th year of life, and moved into and out of head stands and arm balances while describing some of the research he has been apart of at RMIT, which measured his ability to hold his breath for 6mins. While many of us were scribbling notes he told us not to worry too much about taking notes, 'too much thinking,' he said.
Simon is originally an Iyengar Trained Yoga Teacher, and apparently was well known for awe-inspiring back bends. He credits his development as a yoga teacher to working with Shandor Remete who is a guru in his own right, being the yogi who developed Shadow Yoga. And I think it is fair to say that Simon's current practice aligns to Shadow Yoga, which is a, 'mixture of asanas with employment of vinyasa, dynamic exercises from marshal arts, Thai Chi, and traditional Indian dance.'
“I use yoga to lovingly encourage the circulation of energy and consciousness throughout my body to be in greater harmony with everything around me.” Simon Borg-Olivier
Each traditional yoga posture Simon demonstrated was followed by a posture which he had adjusted for 'ease and accessibility'. Due to Simon having expert training on the spine as a physio and teaching yoga for the past 35years, I felt his adjusted postures were effective. I could feel my spine, just below the sacral iliac joint releasing A very good sign that my back was happy. I decided to let go of my Iyengar training and go with the flow of the day.
Simon was able to flow into and out of yoga postures in both traditional and his personal style with beautiful ease. By keeping the breath in its natural state while practicing, Simon explains, he is circulating the blood without raising the heart rate which made his practice a longevity practice. Something you 'could do for hours', Simon said. And I could see that he was prepared to practice for hours. He spoke about lettuce, and how much of it he eats, and it was very clear, as he discussed the desire to live long enough to become enlightened, that this is an incredibly healthy and vibrantly happy human.
I bristled a little when Simon stated that 'Happiness is a choice.' As people with mental health issues know having the ability to choose your mental state is sometimes taken away from you. But it also made me think about all the times I could choose happiness and perhaps didn't, which is something I could definitely work on. I had a surprising and immediate karmic effect which I attribute to the morning practice with Simon. A cafe owner refused to serve me a fresh juice at lunch break, due to having a $20 minimum on using the debit card machine. I laughed out loud at his abruptness and walked out with not a backward thought. I said a thank-you to whatever gods were listening for not getting angry. I was feeling very happy...
After lunch, we all did a practice together for some time. I really couldn't say how long any of the sessions took, for me the day passed incredibly quickly. Simon stressed that most yoga classes taught over-breathing, over-stretching, over-working. He kept his practice very relaxed, very playful, and very fluid. As he practiced facing forward, it was quite easy to lose yourself in the present moment of the movement. Simon didn't give vocal instructions so much as a series of clicks which he had devised to communicate a change of posture, and were very easy to follow. The lack of a guiding voice really allowed the mind to relax and just go with the flow of the ambient house music, Simon was playing.
While, not everything Simon said was my cup of tea such as; the instructions he felt were commonly given in Downdog was to lift the sit bones and 'push down the shoulder blades'. (This is not my understanding of the Hatha/Iyengar instructions). Or that some of Simon's adjusted postures were the same 'shapes' as traditional postures, and could replace an Iyengar style side angle posture. (We practiced the two styles of Utthita Parsvakonasa within minutes of each other, the two felt very different.) Also he thought, 'that some practices were mind games'. (I chuckled and thought of the mental rigour required to practice Iyengar.) But I could see that what he was offering was an 'energy-based slice of yoga.'
Simon's view of yoga was gentle, invigorating, rejuvenating, and accessible for most people. Simon made me think about how important it was to generate peace, lightness and joy while practicing. And I asked myself if the perfect pose existed or was worth trying for? Simon's yoga is a rejuvenating practice. I could feel the energetic layer of my being becoming lighter and freer.
Self-compassion and self-love, gentleness, energetic joy, laughter and obviously a lot of yoga is what Simon offers. Its all the good stuff! I did miss the list of familiar instructions from a traditional class, and I did miss working a little harder, but in the end I let go of what I believed yoga to be and adopted his view of yoga, which was very beautiful and loving, and I am very glad I did.
Simon spoke more about humanity being one big family and listed the upcoming trainings in several countries that he will be doing in the coming months. He welcomed everyone to join the Synergy family. I could see the results of his practice, which was a lightness in the energetic layer of his being and a freedom in the physical layer that I could only imagine. As we wrapped up 7 hours together I was surprised that I did feel refreshed and balanced, and I noticed in the 2 or 3 days after the Masterclass I still enjoyed the affects of his practice.
I asked for a selfie with a smile and left the studio thanking Simon sincerely, I breathed a big sigh of gratitude. Mental and emotionally I felt freer and lighter. It was a lovely practice for mental wellbeing benefits and I felt really balanced and energised for days. I was a bit nervous how I would survive a day outside my comfort zone, and honestly enjoyed myself. Overall I was really touched by Simon's joy and playfulness. For me the challenge was letting go of my expectations of what I believe yoga is, and the reward was to spend a day dancing with yoga energy and Simon.
It turned out to be heaven...
Comments