My personal journey into yoga.
Yoga – A Path for Actors
First, let’s breathe! Inhale deeply and exhale deeply. Relax the body and let the shoulders down. Inhale…exhale. Let’s do this together. Inhale through the nose, lift the chest up to the sky, and exhale everything through the mouth, dropping the bottom of your wings closer to the back of your heart. Relax… you can Close your eyes and do this for a couple of times. Just Take a deep breath.
We’re running all day through our meetings of life, tiring and stressing for random mundane reasons, accumulating tension in our physical bodies, the tension that can lead to deficiencies or even diseases. We work, work, work, trying to be better and better, reaching the next top of the mountain, always willing to become stronger, wiser, and happier. But We forget to Take this tiny Little moment to breathe. I mean, really breathe! Having a moment of being in the present, just observing the fact that we’re alive. We’re inhaling fresh air into the lungs and exhaling carbon dioxide through the nose or mouth back into the atmosphere. It’s a chemical exchange between the physical body of the being and all that surrounds it. We source oxygen from the air. Green plants release oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis; we use that oxygen to fuel our metabolic reactions, releasing carbon dioxide as a waste product. You are breathing! Now, roll the shoulders back and down and lift the corners of the mouth. Thank you for being!
Why Yoga?
Because Yoga is Union. The word ‘yoga’ comes from the Sanskrit root word ‘yuj’, which means ‘to join’, or ‘to unite’. In yoga, the emphasis is first on self-practice. Patanjali, who is known as the “Father of Yoga” and lived 2500 years ago, wrote the Yoga Sutras, which contain 196 verses (Sutra’s) explaining the practice and the pathway to reach Union. Patanjali’s definition of Yoga is contained in the second Sutra, ‘YogasChittaVrittiNirodhah’, which can be translated to: “Yoga is the Process of Controlling the Modifications of the Mind”.
The mind can be easily distracted. By everything that surrounds us. Mostly thoughts, memories of the past or projections of the future. And the present? We don’t have thoughts about it, because it’s still happening, right? Like one of my favorite movie characters, Master Oogway Sais: ‘Yesterday is a history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that is why it is called present’.
This gift that We reach for every time and it’s always here, So Close to us, closer than We thought. Just in our breath. In this inhalation and in this exhalation. This is a certain thing that we know. That we’re breathing beings. Like the Dasein of Heidegger, ‘being there’ or ‘presence’ is the essence of everything.
Life starts with a breath and ends When is no breath. So, why do we put So Little attention on the only thing that keeps us alive? Because is the only process that happens voluntarily and involuntarily in our bodies. Automatic breathing allows the breath to sustain life When voluntary Respiration is not possible, for example during our sleep. The medulla, located nearest the spinal cord, directs the spinal cord to maintain breathing, and the pons, a part of the brain very near the medulla, provides further smoothing of the respiration pattern. This control is automatic, involuntary, and continuous. But we are not conscious about it all the time, aren’t we? The good thing is we also can breathe consciously, being completely aware of the process of breathing.
In order to maintain awareness and reduce distraction, there are some tools that yoga gives, such as the Pranayama practice, which are breathing exercises, that anyone can do.
There are many pranayama techniques, such as Ujjayi, Full Yogic Breath, Kapalbhati, Nadi Shodana, Bhastrika, etc. If you’re curious, you can search for it and try it At home. Some of them are really easy to do, and some of them require a little more practice. Just be sure you’re doing them correctly. Maybe you have already tried some of them without knowing they are pranayama techniques, during Acting School, Music School, Dancing School, etc.
One of the best ways to reduce stress and bring awareness inside is through Meditation. Sitting still, breathing in a relaxed manner, and keep the focus only on the breath, while letting the thoughts pass away. In order to maintain the body relaxed and still as long as We do this, We can train it by doing Asanas, postures that are designed to help the body calibrate to its natural shape.
It’s just being aware of the tools We already have in our bodies and what We can do with these tools to improve our lives and Even the world We live in. Beautiful, isn’t it?
As actors, We run all the time for auditions, workshops, masterclasses, camps, classes of canto, dancing, ballet, tap, juggling, pantomime, and who knows what, just to improve our skills. ‘The actor is Like a Sponge that absorbs everything around’, said my Drama teacher one day. Our awareness should be up all the time, from the moment we wake up, till we go to sleep. We observe, research, process, incubate, get inspired, translate, and integrate the creative work into the outside world. Sometimes We wait for feedback, sometimes not, because the feeling of bringing an authentic creation to life is just enough for our souls. Maybe not enough for our bellies, but that’s another discussion. Sayings like ‘the difference between a pizza and an actor is that the pizza can Feed a family’ aren’t just myths, sometimes. Well, At least the soul is fulfilled. A good Performance brings such a joy to the performer, that he/she can easily forget about the remuneration. Well, If you’re Like that, welcome to the boat. I’m willing to meet you and Find out your story, Share a Glass of tap water, and talk about an actor’s life.
I didn’t choose to become an actress in order to be rich. I’ve never wanted a big fancy house, a Lamborghini, or monthly installments. I just wanted to act and sing, no matter what the circumstances. That was all. And still is. I’ve been working for 4 years in “The Mask Theatre”, Bucharest and 2 years in “National Theatre Aureliu Manea” in Turda, gathering over 50 shows, verbal and non-verbal, performed in different parts of Romania, as well as international, in Switzerland, England, Turkey, Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, Canada and more. All these experiences made me understand I have to practice hard and really love what I do in order to create authentic work. I am a being in search of means through which I can develop myself to create an original artistic product.
How did I get into Yoga?
Thought Theatre.
In the first year of my Master’s, we had the opportunity to work with an amazing Romanian woman and director, Alexandra Badea, who works in France now. We had a workshop with her and every day, before the rehearsal, we were coming 1 hour earlier to do the Sun Salutations, 20 minutes of meditation, journaling, and diction exercises. That was the routine she taught us and it worked immediately.
The effects were visible to all of my colleagues. Everyone was calmer, nicer, and more generous, We had better focus, better responses, better coordination, flexibility, agility, and an even better sense of humor. The show was a success and We definitely Learned a lot from this experience! And I thought to myself: Why not keep on doing this routine every day? And I did. Well, At least At the beginning was every day, then i shortened the meditation time, then I skipped the diction exercises when I had non-verbal shows, then I found other stuff to include in my daily routine and I couldn’t find time to do any of these, and, of course, there were also days of laziness, which We all have, don’t we?
But I kept on doing the Sun Salutations, Even for a few minutes When I was getting out of bed. Then I was journaling while drinking my tea or coffee. After that, I Could have started my day properly.
I was living in one city, studying in another, and working in another. I was doing fine, I thought. I was waking up At 7 and coming back home At 11 or 12 in the night.
The truth is I was exhausted, Even if I wouldn’t have recognized it. Then what happened? The Pandemic came. The University got closed, the Theater got closed and suddenly, I didn’t have to leave home. My apartment was 11m square, so..not so many long walks to take, no?
What did I do? I started an online yoga program, called ‘Home’ by Adriane Mishler. I did yoga every day for 30 days and It definitely changed me. I started another one of 30 days after that, then another and Like this, I practiced yoga every single day of the pandemic. Meanwhile, I was taking my online Masterclasses, rehearsing At the Theater (When possible) running a music project with my friends, filming, recording, and performing (where possible, mostly on the street).
I was practicing Yoga At the Theater, in my cabin, on the stage, in parks, on roofs, and in Any place a mat Could have fit. My partner, who observed all the processes and was practicing along with me, asked one day Why i don’t start to teach yoga to other people? And I thought: Well, that’s a good idea! Let’s do it!
We found a big space that was temporarily out of order and I created an event where I invited my friends to learn and practice yoga. It was ‘Introduction to Yoga’, then ‘Yoga for Beginners’, ‘Fusion yoga’, ‘Detox yoga’, ‘Hatha yoga’, ‘Anusara Yoga’, ‘Full Moon Yoga’, ‘Power yoga’, then I called all the events ‘Yoga for friends’, just because those who were coming were my friends and the new ones were becoming my friends.
One day I decided to sign up for an online 200h YTT and be a yoga teacher. And I did! I started to travel around Europe and Here I am, right now, in Montenegro, watching the beautiful Adriatic Sea, surrounded by huge mountains, and writing ‘My personal journey into yoga’ essay. I almost can’t believe it, but it’s true. And I am, So grateful for everything that happened and for discovering myself through Yoga! Just wish for something and if you really, really want it and is for you, it will happen. Have faith! Believe in you! Believe in your inner self! And work! Practice! Make a daily routine! Transform it into a habit. Then the habit will transform you!
Yoga helped me to worry less about unimportant things and give more attention to the things that matter the most. It helped me calm down (there’s still work to do), lose weight, strengthen my body, balance my metabolism, be more flexible and less tense, reduce stress, stop drinking, improve my vitality, energy, and respiration, and have a better Lifestyle.
Thank you, my love, my family, and my dear friends for supporting and encouraging me! It would have been harder without you!
