yes, moving meditation, absolutely. that s exactly how i see yoga. it does have obviously a physical component. but the intention of it is not just the health of the body but the health of the individual. you to change the mental state, change the spiritual state. to help the individual become the most vibrant person they can be. we have a lot of brand-new people, people coming to yoga for the first time, which is wonderful. but they come in with this whole set of expectations or won t come in because they think, i can t touch my toes or i m not flexible enough or have all these ideas of who they have to be in order to approach the practice. and what i want most is for people to just show up as they are. that s the most beautiful place. we ll grow into more of ourselves rather than other than ourselves. even my entire crew said to me as i came off the class that they were watching and it was so relaxing just to watch the class
starting point, meet the individual wherever they re at. have you ever run across anybody who could not do yoga or you would suggest to not do yoga? i have not. not a blanket, i wouldn t do it. do modifications need to be made? yes. are there contraindications for some of the physical postures? yes. and does the teacher need to know their own limitations in what they re introducing to people, particularly when you start to get into therapeutic, absolutely. but i think anybody can practice. it is a practice that can be molded to serve wherever the individual is, whatever it is that they come into the room with. i appreciate you letting me into your class today. thank you. it was the most relaxed i ve been in a very long time. thank you. i m so grateful you came. thank you so much. namaste. that was a great workout. when we come back, we chat with celebrity entrepreneur and fellow yogie russell simmons.
that s why i went 20 years ago. there were no guys back then. myself and bobby. and that was it. 58 girls. 58 girls. big class. yeah, 60 people fit in steve ross class. and you sit in the back so you could see their bums when they bend over? i do. it was phenomenal. i came out of that first class high as hell. even in yoga, the idea is meditative. moving with the breath, right? that s meditative. and i came out high as hell. within a few years, the teacher gave me the yoga sutras. i ve been meditating about 20 years. you kept meditating because you wanted to keep that high going? isn t that true? yes. it is. it s an extension of that. that s right. don t go anywhere, when we come back, russell gives us some tips about meditation and how it can lead to a happier and more successful life. can lead to a happier and more successful life. don t miss a step.
even and listen to you talk. i said, believe me, it wasn t as relaxing doing the class. this literally doesn t look like a workout. right. but at the same time, it was probably the toughest workout i ve had in the last three weeks. thank you, it was my intention to create a space that i try to even cultivate my voice to be a place where there can be rest and relaxation so all those other things can just fall away and we can just be here, be who we are. yes, it will physically change you. it will work you out. is that the intention of yoga in general? the most common thing to say the intention of yoga is to make the body healthy and light so you can sit or meditate. another way to look at it is the belief that the spiritual evolution of the individual takes longer than the physical evolution. so we want to slow it down. we want to make the body healthy
that s exactly how i see yoga. it does have obviously a physical component. but the intention of it is not just the health of the body but the health of the individual. you to change the mental state, change the spiritual state. to help the individual become the most vibrant person they can be. we have a lot of brand-new people, people coming to yoga for the first time, which is wonderful. but they come in with this whole set of expectations or won t come in because they think, i can t touch my toes or i m not flexible enough or have all these ideas of who they have to be in order to approach the practice. and what i want most is for people to just show up as they are. that s the most beautiful place. we ll grow into more of ourselves rather than other than ourselves. even my entire crew said to me as i came off the class that they were watching and it was so relaxing just to watch the class