Ageless Yoga with Marnell Farley

Yoga in the desert for everyone

During our study and practice of hatha yoga, we should be wary of the common idea that its purpose is limited to improving some chosen aspect of our lives — yoga and sports, yoga as therapy, yoga for this or for that.

These can be valid personal goals, and yoga can help us achieve them. But they are not yoga's purpose.

The poses (the asanas, in Sanskrit), as essential as they are to hatha yoga, are not its purpose, either. Their practice is only a tool used by hatha yoga.

Hatha yoga is a way of learning to be competely in our selves in the present, of quieting our too-distracted, unquiet minds. It is a physical meditation.

With time and practice, we learn to focus and to integrate and balance the different aspects of our selves. We then begin to overcome some of our self-imposed limitations and delusions.

If we re-examine the purpose of yoga with this new awareness, we find that the goal of yoga is yoga.

To begin solving that riddle, remember that the word yoga means "union." The ultimate purpose of yoga is our union with the object of our ultimate desire, be it spiritual self-knowledge, or our growing knowledge of a universal spirit.

FOR SUMMER 2008 I'm teaching classes at two resorts in the valley, The Miramonte® Resort and Spa and The JW Marriott® Desert Springs Resort and Spa.

AT THE WELL SPA AT THE MIRAMONTE, I hold two different classes:

• YOGA is a flowing series of gentle and dynamic yoga poses performed with breath work. It is a mind and body exercise that challenges you to connect from within.
• RESTORATIVE YOGA is a soothing class following the Iyengar method, in which we practice ground-based poses using bolsters and blankets as needed for support. This yoga class is particularly appropriate for students of all levels.

AT THE DESERT SPRINGS, I offer a class twice a week:

• YOGA provides an integrative physical and mental workout for all ages and experience levels. Classes are held in the yoga studio overlooking the golf course's stunning 17th green.

My classes are appropriate for all levels from beginners to long-time practioners. All my classes are small enough for each student's needs to be addressed.

For class schedules and all the other information about attending a class, see the contact, schedules, & fees page.

THE PRIMARY ADVANTAGE of private sessions, of course, is the individual attention that can be given. Each yoga session is shaped to your unique needs. In addition, private sessions can be scheduled where and when it is most convenient for you. For more information, please contact me directly.

If you can't make it to one of my weekend classes at The Miramonte or The Desert Springs, consider booking a private session.

WE TYPICALLY BEGIN OUR YOGA SESSIONS with breathing exercises. We move on to stretches and poses protecting and strengthening the body core—that is, the lower back, legs, belly and upper body.

Then, if we find that you need to concentrate on something as simple as a stiff neck, we do so. Or, if you need help with a difficult asana, then we can also work on that. Finally, after a good workout of an hour or so, we cool down with a bit of meditative relaxation.

You might think of it as a session of physical meditation.