ABOVE: VANESSA SULZER IN PARSVA BHUJA DANDASANA “GRASSHOPPER POSE.” FACING PAGE: CLARE EDDY AGE 11, BERYL EDDY AGE 7, MATTEO JAY TKACZYK 18 MOS, VANESSA SULZER AND ADI AMAR
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ou talk to anyone who does yoga, and they will tell you it is a practice. In the best of cases it is a practice for life. Studies have shown that regular yoga asana practice over a long period of time supports flexibility and strength, peace of mind, and balance of emotions. But what does it really mean to bring yoga into your life? And even more, what makes this practice something that you return to as part of your routine day after day, year after year? I began practicing yoga when I was 23 and in college. At that time in 1997, I didn’t even know what yoga was, but I needed to take a class outside of my discipline. I was told it was an easy A, so I gave it a shot. I was instantly taken— the pain from scoliosis that I had lived
with for many years dissipated. I realized that, for the first time in my life, I had some control over how my body felt. I had experienced pain in my body for so many years: I thought that I would feel that way for the rest of my life. To realize that I had the power to make myself feel better was intoxicating and kept me coming back for more. Needless to say, there are as many different stages of yoga practice as there are practitioners, and whatever age one starts practicing yoga is the perfect time for every individual. But in a desire to celebrate the idea of yoga for life, I have interviewed a number of Jackson Hole yogis varying in age, from some of our youngest residents upward, to get a perspective on what brought them to yoga and what has made them stay.
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