Page 56 - Panama City Living Magazine

I think yoga is less about lengthening your muscle bers... it can teach your nervous system to relax. Turning that parasympathetic nervous sys- tem on, so we are not stuck in this co ee-induced ght-or- ight. That we are able to eventually relax into that parasympathetic state, and that is what ultimately, in conjunction with stretching and pressure, pressure being something like massage, can release that tension.I am amazed that you have male students who appreciate yoga. But it’s the exception... most might think it unmanly to practice yoga...Unfortunately. It’s the same as having the stereotypical perception in west- ern societies that everyone who comes to yoga is athletic, young, and a woman. I would say eighty percent of my clients are middle age or se- nior citizens. I also work on rehabilitating injuries, I work with professional baseball players who are trying to rehab injuries before season. I think at the end of the day, whether you're doing hot yoga or Ashtanga, the real intention, physically, is how to heal the body and prepare it to last for the rest of your life.In yoga, everything has an emphasis on the breath. That appealed to me as a swimmer and a lifeguard. Every yoga class preaches deep, audible breath, it makes you breathe and become aware of all the happenings internally. It's like the breath is the mantra to ush out all the b.s. that you're dealing with every day.What would you tell a guy who is making fun of yoga?When I get guys in here who think yoga is “not real exercise,” they will be drenched in a pool of sweat by the time the class is over. If I want to humble a young buck walking in thinking he is the strongest in the room because he's got the abs and the biceps, because he's been working out every day, I will place him just behind the 60-year-old lady who has been consistently practicing yoga. At the end of class, he will be laying down panting in a pool of sweat, and she will be gracefully moving back and forth. Why? Because she's learned, strength isn't about turning on all your muscles. Strength in yoga is a little more intelligent. You are learning how to turn o the muscles that aren't needed, while turning on the ones that are. You’re learning to regulate your breath and control your pace, instead of just putting it all out there, and I think that's what guys can learn... especially when it comes to balancing the masculine with the feminine, which is something that's not talked a lot about. It’s a misconception that a guy cannot be feminine. Showing your softer side makes you more of a man.Was that something you had to overcome? Did you have to bring up courage to go to yoga class?Oh, sure. But not because of the male-female thing. I was just vulnerable and did not think I was exible enough to put myself in front of a teacher and let them see how in exible and un-strong I was. And ... I think that was more di cult.How did yoga change your perception of workouts and your abilities?I thought I was strong ... I thought I was strong working out in cross t gyms in the military. I thought I was strong lifting weights with my professional weightlifting friends. I thought I was strong through my years on the swim team and the soccer team, and all these other sports - until I started prac- ticing yoga and I realized how not-strong I was.David Bulger's teaching schedule can be found online at www.pcbeachyoga.com56 • March - April 2018 • www.PanamaCityLiving.com