NOT many are aware that being fit goes beyond having firm abs and toned muscles.
The quest for a ‘beautiful body’ takes into account more factors than just a dedicated gym regimen, according to yoga teacher Aaron Wickramasekera.
The balance of body, mind and spirit, and the impact of one upon the others, plays an important role in achieving the desired physical state.
Aaron’s epiphany was the result of serious injuries from intense Muay Thai fights.
“I broke my knees and wrists. So, I had to start something with low impact to keep my mobility,’’ he said.
Until then, Aaron had been a sceptic of yoga.
“I would often say how it was a useless thing and just a glorified version of stretching.
“But since starting it, I have developed mobility, regained my health and travelled around the world teaching people to achieve growth through sustainable yoga.”
Due to the current circumstances, Aaron is back in Sri Lanka conducting online classes and focusing on building his community there.
Can you remember your first yoga session?
Definitely! I started yoga on my previous job. I was managing a five-star luxury resort in the south of Sri Lanka. And they had a 14-day training yoga programme.
I became good friends with the teachers and participants who invited me for a couple of classes.
At the time, I could not even touch my toes while everyone else was popping into handstands.
That was the moment I realised that my mobility and functionality were really bad although I was very built up. The session was a good slap of reality.
Why did you decide to make yoga a career?
When I started yoga, I was able to progress rapidly due to my experience in bodybuilding, weight training and Muay Thai.
Many were envious and confused because I still wanted to go to the gym and eat meat.
The teachers would tell me that I could not be this bulky and consume meat.
And for a while, I believed them. But then, I realised there was a lack of understanding.
Hence, I decided to become a teacher and actually make these things more sustainable. For instance, during my classes, I always make it a point to make yoga sustainable and adaptable to my students’ lifestyle.
How does one benefit from yoga?
With yoga, it helps with things like mobility and joint health. Especially with the yoga I practise, which is FRC (functional range conditioning), it helps to utilise the entire range of motion into our joints.
I always recommend people to do some kind of strength and base exercise at the gym, to progress in yoga. A lot of us want to do stunts like headstands but we do not focus on our nutrition. We need to work and build the foundation before we perform any poses.
Do you think your previous dislike for yoga was because of society’s view of masculinity?
Yeah for sure! A lot of guys have the same mentality that I used to have. Many think yoga is only for girls and is an over-glorified version of stretching. But at the same time, a lot of them secretly admire it and wish they could do the same. But they would not say it out loud and this is toxic masculinity.
So, I think that kind of mentality is harmful. When I started yoga, a lot of people were very critical. But as I continued, some people became less critical and slowly took the initiative to understand the form of exercise.
How would you promote acceptance of yoga?
We can start by normalising the journey, not just the final product. Every time we see someone doing a handstand or a split, we say that is amazing. But when we see someone doing a handstand that is not that good, we get very critical.
That mentality is what needs to change. We need to start accepting that it is okay to try something new. It is okay to look stupid and silly. It is okay to show sides of you that are vulnerable. And we need to accept that perfection is not a human thing.
