Burned out? Yoga'tta try Otter Creek Yoga

Author: Andrea Glaessner

It was a blustery day when I first spotted Otter Creek Yoga on my way to the neighboring Chinese restaurant. I had a rough day at school and decided a little comfort in the form of hot and sour soup and some Kung Pao chicken would certainly boost my spirits. As I rushed over to the restaurant I spotted a green awning with the word YOGA in big white letters. I peeked in the window to glimpse a few women chatting in the waiting room with a few stretching bodies in the background.

Bustling on my way, it was not until I was lying on my bed clutching my incredibly full stomach that I remembered the green awning. Chinese food is delicious, and certainly has a way of making me feel better when I am feeling cranky and burned out. But maybe I should try something different to cheer me up, something that I cannot eat until I feel sick or that lasts longer than it takes to down a beer and a bowl of rice.

According to a recent study, I am not alone. The five most common stress relief habits are: consuming too much caffeine, smoking, drinking in excess, compulsive spending and emotional eating. Unfortunately, these habits are in fact all things that one might categorize as "vices." Partaking in them to blow off a little steam goes hand-in-hand with blowing off your liver and burning a hole in your wallet.

After my revelation, I decided to venture past the green awning at Otter Creek Yoga and see for myself whether yoga could in fact fulfill a person even more than mind-altering substances and other like forms of instant but questionable gratification. Perhaps there is a way to de-stress without Gucci, Godiva and Ganja.

After spending some time chatting with the director of the studio, Joanna Colwell and one of the instructors, Gaye Abbott, I am starting to think there is more to this yoga craze than mad flexibility and some restful meditation at the end. I have done yoga before, but it was in a basketball gym in Houston, Texas with a wacked-out lady named Virgil who struggled to touch her toes. It was anticlimactic to say the least.

But with the right instructor and an open mind, regular yoga can set you off on a journey to improve your body's flexibility and strength, balance your mind, learn to look at the world differently and nourish your soul. Tucked into the south block of Marbleworks, Otter Creek Yoga welcomes anyone ready to reap the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of the yogi way of life.

So how can a little stretching and heavy breathing really change your life? Just ask Colwell and she is more than happy to share her story. Colwell has been teaching yoga for 12 years, seven of which she has spent here in Middlebury. Before she opened the studio in Marbleworks, Colwell says she was "a roving yoga teacher, teaching wherever there was space."

Last year Colwell's dream to open her own studio finally came to fruition, and it was not long before word was out about the new studio space in town.

"After I opened the studio, all these other teachers appeared which is great," said Colwell. "Now there are five of us teaching here with a real range of styles."

Colwell considers herself a strict follower of Iyengar yoga, which is a rigorous, precise style of yoga that focuses on alignment.

"You hear a lot of very specific instructions about how to move this part of your ribcage," explained Colwell, "You tend to hold the postures for a long time, it's very demanding, very dynamic."

The style is named after BKS Iyengar, an 87 year old man who taught countless yogis who traveled to India and proceeded to spread Iyengar's style all over the world. "You can practice Iyengar all over the world now, it has really spread," Colwell said. "There's not a lot of Iyengar yoga in Vermont. There are other styles that are less precise and tend to have more people practicing and teaching them."

Colwell prefers Iyengar yoga because of its attention to the body's alignment. She explained that one of the hallmarks of Iyengar is that while it demands a lot of the body and mind, the attention to alignment that the style requires makes it very safe for beginners.

"I can have a 70 year old with a really tight body do yoga safely with Iyengar yoga," she says, "Especially with props that teach the body how to open without getting injured."

Abbott, a yoga therapist and instructor at the studio, who, like Colwell, was trained in the California Bay Area, teaches another style of yoga that is more common in Vermont. Abbott explained that her style focuses on diaphragmatic breathing and is less strict than Iyengar. Abbott's "yoga therapy" features a blend of Iynegar yoga and other types of other "flowing" yoga.

Abbott and Colwell, sitting relaxed on the rich bamboo floor of the studio, tried to describe their very different teaching styles, but it was apparent that the best way to understand the different techniques is to see them first-hand.

In fact, Colwell often encourages beginning students to attend a variety of classes to determine which style feels most comfortable and which instructor they feel most naturally connected to. One of the best ways to experiment is to attend a free class on the fourth Friday of every month, which Colwell says, "Gives new people a little taste of the studio and what we have to offer."

The studio boasts a warm, bright room where yogis can stretch and breathe to their hearts' content. But more unique is that the instructors go beyond helping their students to improve physically. They seek to teach their students about the yogi way of life by inspiring them with their own work in environmental and peace activism.

When asked about her thoughts on Bikram yoga, a very popular new yoga fad that involves performing a strict routine in a room with the temperature set at over 110 degrees, Colwell's response indicated the depth of her passion for environmental activism.

"As an anti-global warming activist I have a really big problem with Bikram yoga in Vermont. When you heat a room to 110 degrees, you're not being efficient with energy. I do a lot of environmental and peace work and I love bringing that into my work because that's what yoga is all about," she said. However, she admits that during the summer, Bikram would be a more environmentally friendly option.

To try to summarize the major theoretical or philosophical concept that is the backbone of practicing yoga is difficult. But generally speaking, yoga is a way of life that requires respect for the earth and the air that is vital for human existence. So being an environmental activist is quite fitting with Colwell's job as a yoga instructor. Abbott is also an environmental activist and proudly stated that the studio's bamboo floor was "all-natural and chemical free" and that the cleaning products at Otter Creek were also environmentally friendly.

Colwell works with the People for Less Pollution group, which formed in response to the International Paper tire burn in November. She is also quite involved in protesting the Iraq war and promoting peace. This Wednesday at 7 p.m., the studio is screening a documentary on the war entitled, "The Ground Truth" which Colwell described as "incredibly moving."

The yogi way of life is steeped in historical and philosophical traditions. In addition to sharing their own passion for environmental and peace activism, Colwell and the other Otter Creek instructors make sure their students learn about the "yamas," ethical precepts that yogis are expected to adhere to, as well as "niyamas" - personal practices for yogis.

Otter Creek Yoga classes are richer and more fulfilling than just any yoga class, and certainly more than Virgil's, because they offer such rare intellectual enlightenment. Yoga has certainly been gaining popularity in the mainstream media and in popular culture, yet Colwell still bumps into a few skeptics every s
o often.

"A lot of people are leery about yoga because they think it's about twisting their body in this weird position and doing chanting and stuff," said Colwell. "And then they come in and realize it just feels so good."

The regular attendees of Otter Creek Yoga classes represent a broad spectrum of individuals from retired college professors to retired engineers to college students to little kids. A typical class could have a mix of all those types of people. Interestingly, Colwell tends to see many psychotherapists attend her yoga classes.

"They understand how we store a lot of bad stuff in our bodies and it's important to help your body to help your mind," said Colwell.

Otter Creek Yoga offers a break from the hectic nature of everyday life and an outlet to enrich your mind and body. It's a trip well worth venturing outside the bubble for.