He was king of the gym but when it came to the yoga mat he was bottom of the class.
Like many other urbanites, public relations consultant John Hanlon wanted a break from the routine of lifting weights when he took a yoga session at a California Fitness branch in Taipei last weekend.
A ripped physique didn't help as he struggled to balance and maintain poses that others found relatively simple. The yoga mat, it seems, is a great leveler.
"It's not easy," said the former US army soldier. "It exposed weaknesses in my body I didn't expect. I was shocked and amazed. It was a humbling yet fulfilling experience."
Hanlon said he would be doing more classes in the future. He noted the workout hardened stomach muscles he hadn't exercised before and he felt calmed.
"Focusing on one thing made me concentrate, not like in the gym where I'm thinking of what I'm going to do next. It was like a one-hour vacation," he said.
Hanlon is not alone. Sting, Quincy Jones, Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna are well-known personalities who have also discovered the benefits of yoga, and there are now an estimated 16.5 million adherents in the US, according to Yoga Journal.
Where America leads the world follows, and Taipei has experienced its own yoga explosion in the past few years.
Regional manager Michael Kyprianou said California Fitness has run yoga classes since it started in Asia 10 years ago but demand had increased dramatically.
"The appetite for yoga is absolutely amazing. The growth we have seen in the various branches of this discipline in our California Fitness clubs around the region has been phenomenal," he said in an e-mail response from Hong Kong.
An ROC Yoga Association (
Space Director William Hsieh (
"Gym shortens the muscles, whereas yoga makes them more flexible. You could say [bodybuilders] are technically deformed. They can't even straighten their arms," Hsieh said.
"There has been a natural evolution of yoga from a traditional ascetic practice. In the past two or three decades it has become more systematized and repackaged by Western practitioners," he said.
"Yoga, for me, is a dynamic form of meditation and exercise," said the former record label boss who was born in Taiwan but lived for many years in California. "It gives you a lithe or feline look rather than muscular bulk."
Though more men are becoming drawn to this type of figure than the muscle-bound look (with its related health problems), women are leading the yoga revolution.
They comprise around 80 percent of clients at yoga centers that were polled. They seek physical well-being, weight loss and a mental or even spiritual dimension to their exercise.
Travel journalist Sabine Mou (
"I wasn't so happy about my job and other things, but after the first lesson I was smiling all the way home," Mou said. "Previously I had been going to the gym for three years. You can make a beautiful body but at the end of the day you face a machine."
After six months of yoga, Mou felt her health had improved and her body had become stronger. She was smoking less, her eating habits had improved, she had more energy and a clearer mind.
Pure, based in Hong Kong, has a shiny, upmarket image and spa-like facilities, including a shop, lounge and library. The company's recently opened branch on busy Zhongxiao East Road has a large photo of Coco Lee (李玟) in a yoga pose outside.
Inside, the style is understated. The overall impression is of dark marble and wood, plants and running water. Young assistants in black, Shaolin-style uniforms politely greet you with the Hindi salutation namaste.
There is piped birdsong, a trace of scent in the air and a studied calm. The mirrored studios vary in size and have special air conditioning systems for clean air and climate control.
Marketing a lifestyle is the key and business is the point. It's a long way from the ascetic lifestyle of a yogi greeting a fresh dawn in India with meditation and exercise.
But this is not necessarily a bad thing, according to those who teach yoga. After all, most people live in the city and need to work every day. Life is different now, they said.
Pure instructor Julie Stephens, has been practicing yoga for 18 years and teaching for six.
"Yoga definitely complements city life because we all need a calm place to deal with the pressure. Yoga helps the mind to be less reactive," she said.
Pure studio manager JoJo Chen (
There was nothing wrong with paying for spiritual enlightenment as it was a form of discipline, she said.
"When you pay the price you feel the pain," she said.
Your reporter checked out a power yoga session at Pure, where the heat is turned up to over 37℃ and the poses are more difficult. He strained and sweated profusely. It was like running or doing aerobics. You will feel the burn.
The idea with hot, power, Bikram and some Ashtanga yoga systems -- where the heat is turned up -- is that it loosens the limbs and mental well-being is found through physical effort.
These yoga classes are at the far end of the yoga exercise spectrum and are said to condition the cardiovascular system, increase tissue elasticity, massage the internal organs and even detox the body through sweating -- though the latter is challenged by some critics.
Younger or athletic people are best suited to these forms of yoga and a medical waiver form that students sign at responsible yoga centers suggest there are risks for those who are elderly or have health problems.
The Chiu Su Jen Yoga Center (
Though Chiu Su Jen does run power yoga courses, it positions itself more at an older segment of the market, appealing to mainly middle-aged women who want low-impact exercise and antidotes to aging. It has a practical approach but nevertheless emphasizes the mind, body and spirit.
Zhang Jia-lin (
She said yoga was a restorative after childbirth, helped cure and prevent illnesses, enhanced work efficiency and even made one better at sports like golf by improving balance, conditioning and concentration.
"It's a life attitude and if you love your life, you will love yoga," Zhang said, adding there was a spiritual dimension to yoga but it was not pushed.
Though yoga existed before Hinduism, it was linked with the religion from around 1500BC and has since been used by Buddhists and even Christians as a way of getting closer to god.
Even so, at many yoga centers the exercise is essentially non-denominational today, and that suits most people.
Pure instructor Stevens said it was the opposite for her, but most people start yoga for physical reasons and find a spiritual element. "Happiness is spirituality," she added.
Dada Rasabuddhananda is a 41-year-old Indian who has practiced yoga for 20 years and was invited by the ROC Yoga Association to teach here five years ago. Rasabuddhananda said yoga was a near-perfect form of exercise for the 21st century as it helped correct the negative impacts of materialism and a sedentary lifestyle.
"People nowadays have everything, but this includes psychic problems, like melancholia and depression," he said.
He said contemporary Western medicine and science needed to be offset by ancient Eastern knowledge and a more spiritual outlook and this was why yoga was becoming more popular.
"Yoga balances the Occidental and Oriental," Rasabuddhananda said. "The body effects the mind and the mind effects the body. The two are `biopsychologically' reciprocal."
He does not worry about the business side of yoga as long as the exercise has a positive influence. But, as a yogi who felt a calling at a young age "to sacrifice myself for society," his bottom line is spiritual rather than financial well-being and he said he also does volunteer teaching.
With its rich history of practice, Rasabuddhananda said, yoga is not a New Age fad but a tried and tested system. The full range of classes now available means there's a form of yoga that's suitable for everyone.
As for the future, it is virtually certain that the traditional Chinese exercises of qigong and taichi will be systematized and repackaged by Western practitioners.
According to Kyprianou of California Fitness, "Yoga, along with other ancient mind/body principles are certain to go from strength to strength as people increasingly seek to find balance in their busy lives."
Yoga classes are tremendously varied.
Here are some of the styles that are popular:
Hatha: Derived from two Sanskrit words meaning "sun" and "moon," this basic style was developed in the 15th century. Body postures and controlled breathing improve the mind, body and soul.
Iyengar: Good for beginners and intermediate. Poses are held longer and props are used to enhance strength, endurance, balance and flexibility.
Bikram Yoga: The heat is turned up and classes consist of a series of 26 poses.
Kundalini Yoga: Said to be a powerful form of yoga releasing the "serpent power" at the base of the spine.
Anusara Yoga: Intends to align the inner and outer body, build strength.
Hot Yoga: The heat goes up and the exercises become more intense.
Ashtanga Yoga: A traditional yoga synchronizing breath and poses to produce intense internal heat and purify. In Westernized forms, the heat outside may also be turned up.
Power Yoga: It's hot and sweaty and can be tough for beginners.
Pilates: Boxer Joseph Pilates came up with this mode of exercising in 1914, based on yoga and ancient Greek exercises.
Cross Training: Taking another complementary exercise like running, cycling, dance or the gym, in conjunction with yoga.
Nude Yoga: Take your clothes off, release your inhibitions.
Laughter Yoga: For those with a sense of humor, or in need of one.
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