Danny Paradise is one of Astanga Yoga?s leading practitioners. A true-blue Canadian from Toronto, he explores and teaches Yoga around the world. He is generally credited with introducing Yoga to many celebrities such as Sting, Madonna and Paul Simon.
Invited by Hotel Yoga and Fitness, Paradise participated in a seminar this past weekend, and has others scheduled for schools in Cambridge and Ajax. He spoke recently to MMA Crossfire?s Kenai Andrews.
Welcome back to The Crossfire.
MMA Crossfire ? The hard-hitting blog that features expert commentary.MMA Crossfire:? What?s your take on the resurgence of yoga?
ASTANGA YOGA MASTER DANNY PARADISE STEPS INTO THE CROSSFIRE
Astanga Yoga master Danny Paradise. Image courtesy yogaFLIGHT.com.
MMA Crossfire: Talk about the resurgence of Yoga.
Danny Paradise:? Well these are ancient practices that are designed to show people how to age with energy, vitality. How to empower themselves, how to heal. Some of the most powerful tools are healing and developing vitality. Yoga?s really an exploration of the soul. It?s soulwork. You come into it as a physical exercise, perhaps. Most people enter into it as a physical exploration but it has very powerful implications for the spirit and the soul. So I?m not surprised there is a surge of interest. It?s designed for the human race. It?s kind of taken world by storm in the last twenty years or so but that?s because it?s so effective and transforming when it?s taught properly.
MMA Crossfire: I understand you?ve introduced Yoga to celebrities such as Sting and Madonna. Were they receptive early on?
Danny Paradise:? Yes, absolutely. Especially when they did it for the very first class. I think it?s clear for anybody if you?re taught carefully in and competently with some experience then people get turned on to it very quickly because the effects are immediate. You notice it instantly. That?s what happened to me when I learned and I think it was the same for them. They were in good shape and doing other activities to stay in shape, but yoga kind of reaches into your body in ways that other disciplines or sports don?t touch. It has very fast effective results. It?s instant like I said. So they noticed it right away, and they realized right away where their weak and strong points were. It becomes pretty clear that it?s a technique designed where your weak points are and how to strengthen them and balance the body. So that was clear to them and most people I?ve encountered wanted to do it every day and the effects are very dramatic when you start to do it on a regular basis. That?s why they?ve kept it up.
MMA Crossfire: ?Have you introduced it to any MMA athletes or boxers?
Danny Paradise: I can?t say exactly if they were doing MMA, but certainly to a lot of people who were doing Kung-Fu, Karate and Tai Chi.I also studied Karate in Canada many years ago and Kung-Fu in Taiwan and Tai Chi. I?m familiar with Martial Arts. I think Yoga is very complimentary to martial arts. In fact, there?s a link between Yoga and certainly Tai Chi and Kung-Fu. Many thousands of years ago the Yogis visited the Shaolin temples in China and there are pictures and paintings of some of the Yogis in the temples. So they were exchanging ideas. Once I started doing Yoga, I recognized the exercises and warm-ups for martial arts came from yoga. So there?s a definite correlation and they?re complimentary disciplines. They fit together very well.
In fact a friend of mine just produced a film about Martial Arts I was in. It?s coming out shortly?
MMA Crossfire: ?What?s it called?
Danny Paradise: It?s called Spirit 2 Power. The director is Khan. She just finished the film and it?s going to be playing at film festivals. She also recognized the link between Yoga and Martial Arts. Martial Arts you could say is an externalization of energy and Yoga is an internalization, although they both kind of cross over. But Yoga?s a real internalization of energy and focus on healing. But Martial Arts is too.
A still of Danny Paradise in the movei Spirit 2 Power. Image courtesy Gulrukh Khan.
MMA Crossfire: What is the most enjoyable aspect for you?
Danny Paradise: Well, I love to travel especially coming into communities and introducing Yoga or coming into places that are already practicing. It?s a great honour for me and I consider it a privilege to come in and meet different cultures, exchange information and ideas. It?s fantastic and one of the nicest things that I get to do. I?ve been on the road for the last 34 years, so I just got back from Russia and Europe.? It was my first trip to Russia. And of course, Yoga is everywhere now. When I started teaching in 1979 and the early 80s, I was coming to a lot of places where there was a little bit of Yoga, but it wasn?t popular and people didn?t really know about it. And they certainly didn?t know about the more concentrated forms like Astanga Yoga. So, it?s been an amazing opportunity for me to introduce these forms in a lot countries many ears ago and see it kind of blossom over decades.
MMA Crossfire: What is the difference between your brand of Yoga and the conventional Yoga we see everywhere?
Danny Paradise: Well, I originally studied Astanga Yoga, which is considered the most concentrated aspect of the physical practices of Yoga. You could say that?When I was first teaching, Yoga was a much lighter exploration. People would so simple poses and then they?d rest between and do another pose and then take a rest. But with the introduction with Astanga Yoga, a lot of young people got the idea that this was a very deep healing form that helped people raise heat and develop deep levels of flexibility, strength, and balance. After a number of years of Astanga Yoga being introduced in the West, different teachers added their own ideas to the practices and created complimentary practices that spread all over the world based on an evolutionary idea. Just people adding their own ideas. A lot of the forms being taught now, like things that are called Power Yoga, Flow Yoga, many other forms? all are rooted in Astanga Yoga. All those teachers that created those different forms and most of the forms that have become popular around the world today are rooted in explorations of Astanga Yoga, that opened the door to much deeper aspects of strengthening and healing. It all comes from a revolutionary teacher from the last century in India by the name of [Sri Tirumalai] Krishnamacharya He taught several teachers, including Iyengar and K. Patabbhi Jois. Then, he taught his own son [Sivananda]Desikar. Those three teachers have spread the forms of Krishnamacharya, including Astanga Yoga. It was through those three Indian teachers that really have allowed the teachings to spread all over the world. It was basically through two Westerners that came to study with K. Patabbhi Jois in the early 1970s: David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff. They were the first Westerners that really became adept at the forms of Astanga Yoga and then brought them back to the West in the early 70s, from 1973. So, that was the doorway. That led to this surge of interest in Yoga the last 40 years.
MMA Crossfire: It?s kind of funny. It kind of corresponds with hip-hop?s rise. I guess a lot of things gave birth in the 1970s.
Danny Paradise: Yeah. Well, like Yoga, hip-hop is about revolution, thinking and consciousness. It comes from exploration from music, which also drives consciousness, so it?s not surprising. If you look at hip-hop dance, there are a lot of moves from Yoga (laughs). So Russell Simmons, he practices Yoga and he was responsible for some of the first interest in rap. So I?m sure he had an influence on even some of the moves they do in the dance.
MMA Crossfire: That?s an interesting correlation?
Danny Paradise: Deep, deep into Yoga.
MMA Crossfire: ?I remember the video game Street Fighter had a Yoga character named Dhalism?
Danny Paradise: What was his name?
MMA Crossfire: Dhalism. He had a Yoga background and was a very popular character in the game.
The Street Fighter Yoga master Dhalism. Image courtesy Capcom.
Danny Paradise: ?(Laughs). That?s interesting. Well, you know, Yoga?s cross-cultural. People in music, professional services, teachers lawyers, doctors, taxi drivers, hippies. Everybody?s exploring it because it reaches deep into the human psyche, as it?s supposed to. People who have a little energy and want to maintain their vitality recognize very quickly how valuable it is on whatever level. It doesn?t have to be Astanga Yoga; it can be lighter exploration.
MMA Crossfire: ?What about the financial aspect of Yoga? I?m thinking of the clothing company LuLulemon.
Danny Paradise: I think it?s all good. It drives Yoga and helps increases people?s interest. Even though it may be an odd combination because Yoga?s really about anti-materialism, bit people recognize through the practice of course, that they need very little to maintain their health and be happy. But at the same time, if fashion draws people into Yoga and helps feel comfortable in what they?re doing and exploring and makes it even more part of the popular culture, I think it?s great.
MMA Crossfire: You were in town this past weekend for a seminar.
Danny Paradise: ?I always teach a little bit when I?m here in the area. I was invited this time by Hotel Yoga and Fitness. I taught at the Shangri-La Hotel this past weekend. I?m doing some classes locally at Fireflo Yoga in Toronto this Sunday and them in Cambridge and Ajax at different schools. They are all listed on my website.
MMA Crossfire: Did you like filming Spirit 2 Power?
Danny Paradise: Yeah. I?m friends with the girl who created the movie and it was fun. She?s a great filmmaker; she just won an award for a film she made earlier. Herpurpose is sincere to really turn people on to the depth and expression of Martial Arts and Yoga. She?s was fun to work with, her and the camera crew.
MMA Crossfire: So you would work with her again.
Danny Paradise: Sure, depending on what it is.
MMA Crossfire: ?I think you?ve made the case for Yoga today Danny. What would you say to those are curious or perhaps looking at it for the first time?
Danny Paradise: There?s some great schools in Toronto and all across Canada. I think there?s people who are dedicated to passing on these practices. If they are interested, then they can check out a school. Maybe watch some classes, make sure the teacher is attentive and not aggressive. And experienced, I think you can observe that whether you?re experienced or not. Also, try introductory classes at schools; there?s a famous school, one of the first, called Downward Dog. I?m friends with the people that created that school. I?ve known them for 17 years and they?ve dedicated their lives to passing on the practices carefully and competently. They?ve trained teachers who teach all across the country. That?s a great place to start. There?s many Yoga schools in Toronto that are rooted from their place. There?s lots of opportunities for people to learn and explore. I think it?s just to go in with an open mind and see what it is. Once you try it, it becomes apparent instantly what kind of exploration it is. These practices are probably tens of thousands of years old, much older than people realize. They come from the genius of the human mind. Exploring the scared nature of life and recognizing the mind, body and spirit are sacred gifts. The purpose is very powerful; the purpose for learning this techniques?
MMA Crossfire: Are you familiar with Trish Stratus? She runs a big Yoga studio up in Vaughan.
Danny Paradise: I haven?t met her I don?t think?
MMA Crossfire: She?s a former professional wrestler?
Danny Paradise: Oh yeah, I have actually? I?ve seen some articles about her and some pictures. Yeah, she looks incredible, in amazing shape.
7-time WWE womens champion and Yoga enthusiast Trish Stratus. Image courtesy Trish Stratus.
MMA Crossfire: ?Right. She was injured when she was wrestling and Yoga helped her recover. So much so, that when she retired she opened up her own studio?
Danny Paradise: Yeah, makes sense. You?re taking complete responsibility for yourself when you practice these forms. You become the authority. It?s not about following authority or gurus or anything like that. These are techniques that create personal authority and responsibility. You learn techniques that you can do on your own. I?ve so many people heal themselves; dancers and athletes. Baseball in Canada I think is working on Yoga. I taught John McEnroe and it helped him heal from back injuries he sustained from playing tennis. So people learn how to heal themselves through ancient ideas that have been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years. They?re valuable and it frees people from doctors. Modern medicine has its place, but learning how to heal yourself is really what Yoga?s about. You don?t need to run to a doctor for most things. You can use holistic healing and Yoga through your own effort to heal many things. I think a lot of people discover the most powerful healing tool for back injuries is Yoga.
MMA Crossfire: I think I feel better already Danny.
Danny Paradise: (Laughs). Well, drop by my class if you want, you can come as my guest.
MMA Crossfire: That would be great! And thanks for talking to us today. Is there anything else you want to talk about before we go?
Danny Paradise: Yoga is part of Shamanism. Shamanism and Yoga are linked together. Ancient explorations of evolutionary consciousness. You could say Yoga recognizes that the guiding principal is nature. Yoga comes from nature and all Shamanic explorations comes from meditation and communication with nature. That?s what I?d like to add.
MMA Crossfire: And perhaps we can do this again sometime.
Danny Paradise: ?That would be great.
MMA Crossfire: ?Thanks again Danny.
Danny Paradise: Oh, it?s a pleasure Kenai.
MMA CROSSFIRE RELATED LINKS:
Danny Paradise official website
Fireflo Yoga official website
Downward Dog official website
Hotel Yoga and Fitness official website
Trish Stratus Stratusphere Yoga Studio official website
MMA Crossfire ? Friday File Trish Stratus Bounty Hunters edition
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Source: http://o.canada.com/2012/11/12/mma-crossfire-conversations-astanga-yoga-master-danny-paradise/
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