Jared Schaller:

Now is the time to relax your body and mind. A major yoga retreat happening at the Moody Gardens Hotel October 31st through November 2nd. That's Halloween weekend.

It's not a trick though. This year's retreat theme: Keys to Freedom and Ease Through Yoga. Joining me now, the man leading this entire retreat—instructor and author Doug Keller. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me.

Doug Keller:

Thanks, Jared. Glad to be with you.

Jared Schaller:

Awesome. Now, Doug, for those who may be unfamiliar with yoga, can you tell us more about what yoga actually is? You know, I've never actually done yoga before. And what can it do for your body?

Doug Keller:

What we're doing in the retreat is the stuff that you most often see in the media—people doing physical stretches or exercises—and with that, breathing practices, concentration, and relaxation. And it does a whole host of things for the body. I've been lately looking at it in terms of how it helps us with the process of healthy aging.

Of course, at any point of life, we can start with taking care of our body so that we go through the process of aging in a healthy and optimal way. And just a couple of the benefits that I can focus upon for you in this particular form of exercise is that when you work with the muscles in the way that you do in yoga practice, it has an anti-inflammatory effect upon the body. A lot of the pains that people experience with age—joint pain, muscle pain, even different forms of inflammation and digestion—all of these are progressive conditions that come with age.

When you work with the muscles and with the breath in the way that you do in yoga, it tends to reduce inflammation in the body and reduce pain problems. So it increases your strength, your flexibility, your power of movement, your cardiovascular health in terms of the relationship between your breath and the activity of the body. And it's very calming and centering to the nervous system. It's a good reset for the nervous system in an environment in which we find ourselves really overstimulated by everything that's going on on the outside. So it's a great way to come back to your center and bring that centered quality with you back into the world once you finish the retreat.

Jared Schaller:

That's awesome. Yeah, because I heard you mentioning about joint issues and all that stuff. I just turned 40, so I was starting to get the little knees or a little... the old deal. So that's awesome to hear about yoga and how that can actually help with that.

Now we're talking about the body—yoga, it doesn't just help the body though. It also helps the mind as well.

Doug Keller:

Yes, absolutely. First of all, it helps cognitive health in the sense of keeping the brain responsive, retentive to memory, and present and responsive to our environment as opposed to reactive. A lot of the problems that we encounter are from the fact that we react to what happens to us rather than responding to what happens to us. And there's a big difference emotionally and in terms of how it's taxing upon the nervous system.

So with yoga, you start to join your awareness to your movement, to your breath. It's through going through the physical practice that you find yourself coming more easily to a centered and calm place by the end of practice. And you're much more aware of your breath patterns. You're aware of the reactive patterns of the mind and you can overcome those patterns in a way that allows you, again, to be more responsive to your environment in a way that's uplifting and nourishing to your own heart and to your own well-being. So it covers really all of those bases.

Jared Schaller:

That sounds fantastic because, you know, doing my job, my mind's always going 90 to nothing every single minute. So like yoga can help you just kind of, I guess, like clear out your mind and just kind of help you be a little bit peace—a little bit maybe?

Doug Keller:

And even in the midst of activity, when you're at work or dealing with the kids or anything else—dealing with traffic—you’re in the midst of all this stuff going on. And it's not that the mind is absolutely peaceful, but there's less noise in the mind. So you're much more present to what happens and responsive to it in an appropriate way. So it's finding peacefulness in the midst of activity, even when you yourself are very active and very engaged.

There's a clarity that comes with the practice of yoga that carries forth and spills over into your life in a way that makes your life just that much more enjoyable.

Jared Schaller:

That sounds very nice to hear. Now, you've been doing the yoga retreat at Moody Gardens for several years. What can guests expect from the retreat experience both on and off the mat?

Doug Keller:

First of all, on the mat, it's a nice straightforward experience. It's not going to be a fast-paced or heavy workout. It's a chance to experience the practice of yoga at a pace that fits you—so you can be with the practice, understand it, feel it—without feeling pushed or rushed. And that helps you to remember what you've done and what you've experienced so you can take it beyond the retreat and make it part of your practice.

Even when you take classes with other teachers, you can bring that additional knowledge into how you practice, and you find you're that much more present to the practice that you do.

Along with being in the class and on the mat and doing the practices we do, you're going to be in a great setting where there's a lot to do and a lot to see. There are a lot of resources available in and around Moody Gardens that I take part in too—with the aquarium and the other exhibits. So there's a lot of ways in which to relax by the pool, be active, go out and do stuff. And so it's a nice balance between doing and seeing and also being in a kind of retreat setting that keeps your center so you can fully enjoy the retreat.

Jared Schaller:

That brings me into my next question—like, when doing yoga, you know, the setting seems to be very important. You don't want to do it, like, in traffic. What do you like about the Moody Gardens Hotel setting?

Doug Keller:

It's a nice space in which to do yoga and it's always a nice group of people to practice with. There's really something to be said for a group energy in the room that really supports you and brings you forward. It's much easier to practice with other people than to be in front of a yoga video or even to be in a class where often the class is focused upon just giving people a workout.

This is not about just getting a workout. It's about really experiencing the feeling and benefits of doing yoga practice in a mutually supportive setting—a non-competitive setting—in which everybody is there to have the same kind of refreshing and renewing experience of yoga.

Jared Schaller:

So the retreat's three days long. What's one part of the retreat that you think people will be talking about after they leave?

Doug Keller:

They like to be brought into the practice—or what they'd like to be brought into the class—to make the class that much more rich for them. For people that are not familiar with yoga and often have ideas about yoga that make them hesitant to show up for a class, they'll find it's really not as difficult, it's not in-your-face, it's not a pushy experience.

And so it's something that you can really incorporate into your life. A common misconception about yoga is that it's about flexibility. It's going to be known that way because it's often publicized in magazines with really stretchy people doing stretchy positions.

First of all, a central benefit of the yoga practice is for your joints—because this is where we experience pain and difficulty and deterioration over time. Our muscles serve the well-being of our joints, and yoga is really about maintaining the health and well-being of the joints, reducing inflammation, and maintaining the free movement of the joints without deterioration.

We do work with the muscles, and rather than thinking about flexibility, it's worth thinking about muscles as being more like a spring. If your spring is too tight—if you do exercises that tighten up your muscles a lot, like weightlifting—it can limit your movement. By the same token, if you take a spring and overstretch it, it loses its power. What we're doing with muscles in yoga is kind of like oiling and maintaining the well-being of the spring.

So when you stretch and contract your muscle, it increases your power of movement. If you overstretch a spring, you lose your power of movement. If you don't stretch a spring enough, you end up tight and bound. In both cases, your joints are affected.

What you can expect is to work with the muscles and joints in a way that increases your feeling of freedom of movement in the body, strength and resilience in the muscles, and at the same time, flexibility. And this includes not just the physical movement of the body, but also freedom in your own breath.

Our breath patterns tend to get very restricted—and that affects our state of mind. The tighter our breathing patterns, the tighter the mind becomes. The more open and relaxed and natural our breathing, the more open and relaxed the mind and emotional states.

So we’re really coming together to experience how freedom in the body includes freedom of movement, a relaxed sense of breath, and an open state of mind. It’s meant to be an experience everyone can participate in at a level that feels comfortable—without feeling pushed or competitive—something you can really take and nourish for yourself.

Jared Schaller:

That's great to hear, because it sounds like something that's not competitive in a room. You know, because I'd be a beginner—and I’m not very flexible—so my movements are not very smooth or anything, you know? So it's good to hear that you’d say this yoga retreat would be great for experts but also beginners as well.

Doug Keller:

Very much for beginners. And experts always like to return to “beginner's mind,” which means as much as you're settled into a way of practice that works for you, to be open to a new experience or approach. Being in the company of beginners is kind of an eye-opener—it opens new keys in your own body too.

We'll be doing classical yoga poses, but I also recognize people’s limitations—especially if they're new. I've developed quite a number of keys for how to get your body to unlock and move into these poses without difficulty.

The biggest limitation people have in yoga is looking at the person next to them and saying, “I’m not doing that.” It’s not about doing what everybody else is doing—it’s about settling into the experience of what you’re feeling as you do the practice.

Jared Schaller:

So what would you say to someone who's never done a yoga retreat and might be nervous about joining one?

Doug Keller:

I think of it as kind of an experience-plus. I mean, everybody needs to get away for a weekend, be in a nice environment where there are things to do, where you can relax and not have to worry about stuff.

Along with that experience of just being in a resort setting, there’s the addition of the class that adds an extra level of peace and engagement. Sometimes it’s stressful to try to figure out how to relax—so it’s nice to have a schedule, something to show up for. Then you can go out, refresh, go to dinner or lunch, see something new, and just be open to the experience. It all fits together really nicely.

Jared Schaller:

My last question: For those who have been doing yoga for years—you’re an expert at it—what made you originally decide to get into yoga?

Doug Keller:

For myself, I actually started more from a spiritual perspective. I was raised Protestant, went to Catholic colleges, was interested in the universal spiritual experience that draws people close to something greater within themselves. I wanted to explore that more deeply, and I got into yoga first as a practice to center and calm the mind.

Along the way, I got introduced to the physical practice, and I understood how necessary that was as part of the peace I was looking for. I didn't understand the connection between having flexible hamstrings and a peaceful mind—but I started to understand. There is a connection.

As I explored more, I got into teaching and started to study the body more to help people with their limitations—pain, inflexibility. Part of my teaching is to offer people keys to find freedom within their own body while accepting it as it is.

Jared Schaller:

I just feel at peace talking to you right now. I mean, it just sounds like a great experience—three full days and all that stuff—and just kind of, you know, mind and body.

Doug Keller:

That's the job! We need to teach the mind how to take a break—coffee break, snack break...

Jared Schaller:

Peace break! A yoga break!

Doug Keller:

Yoga break—yes, most definitely.

Jared Schaller:

My friends do yoga as well, and they always say how relaxed they feel afterward. So that’s one of those great things that I’m definitely going to have to try.

Thank you so much—yoga instructor and author Doug Keller. If you’d like a relaxation weekend, come out to a tropical retreat at the Moody Gardens Hotel. The yoga retreat is happening October 31st through November 2nd, Halloween weekend. You can get tickets and hotel packages now at moodygardens.org.

Doug Keller:

Thank you very much. Look forward to seeing you there.

Jared Schaller:

Thank you, Doug!

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