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March 2, 2007
Stretching the boundaries
Award-winning yoga instructor brings his expertise to Vancouver.
BAILA LAZARUS
That a nice Jewish boy would excel in his studies, become class
valedictorian and get a full scholarship to an Ivy League school
is not that surprising. That he would go on to become a world-class
athlete in an area not even known as a competitive sport makes Esak
Garcia somewhat of a standout.
So if there's a Jewish mother on the planet who has reason to be
proud of her son, it has to be Radha Garcia, who introduced Garcia,
when he was 17, to Bikram's yoga. At the time, she was training
as a teacher with the founder, Bikram Choudhury, himself.
Garcia immediately became enamored with what Bikram practitioners
refer to as a "healing art."
"If you practise Bikram's yoga, it's proven to heal numerous
chronic pains, illnesses and injuries. Pretty much any kind of imbalance
that you have can be adjusted with a regular Bikram's practice,"
said the Boulder, Colo., native, who is in Vancouver giving demonstrations.
"The most common thing that we see healed every day is back
pain. If you have back pain, within a couple of Bikram classes,
you'll start to feel a difference."
Even before his introduction to yoga, Garcia was already planning
an athletic course in life. He had dreamt of excelling in a baseball
or football career after high school. He actually got into yoga
as part of his training for athletics, but he soon acknowledged
that he wasn't a high enough calibre in those two sports.
"Surprisingly, as I've been travelling around the world and
competing with other athletes, I feel like the level that I've reached
is a world-class level," he said.
After high school, Garcia started studies at Yale University, receiving
a full scholarship from the university, as well as financial support
from the Allied Jewish Federation and the Mexican community. (Garcia's
mother is American, while his father is Mexican.)
Garcia always continued his yoga studies, and eventually added the
Brazilian athletic dance of Capoeira to his training routine, though
he admits it's not the best thing to do when training for yoga.
"It just builds the body in a really different way and it's
easy to hurt yourself," he said. "It's not balanced. Pretty
much everything you do is terrible for yoga, but yoga is great for
everything else."
After a while, Garcia realized that university education was not
the route he wanted to follow, and immersed himself in the study
of Capoeira and Bikram's yoga. Upon finishing his Bikram's yoga
teacher's training in 2001, he began competing in, and winning,
international championships, where participants are judged on flexibility
and technique, and he has been asked to do demonstrations all over
the world.
The schedule promoting the Asana Championships has become so hectic,
since last July, he has travelled around the world and hasn't been
back home for more than a month.
"As it becomes more popular, more and more schools and yoga
practitioners are wanting to participate and train for it, so I've
been promoting that," said Garcia, who is currently the only
Bikram teacher who is doing this kind of steady promotion.
While developing his physical skills over the years, Garcia has
included spirituality in his life and has maintained an interest
in self-exploration. His Judaism has particular relevance to him
in terms of his ancestry. He recalled when his Orthodox uncle called
him up to read at his cousin's bar mitzvah.
"It was really important to him that I be included," he
said. "For me, it was showing respect for my family and the
tradition that I come from."
On his mother's side, there is an extended family with many Jewish
cousins with whom Garcia grew up.
"One thing I that I really enjoyed about being with my Jewish
family is celebrating Friday night Sabbath ... the joyful singing
[and] family time," he said. "All settings where people
are together and joyfully praising God are really moving to me.
"The true religion is about bringing people into awareness
of their connection of what is divine, what is part of us that is
beyond the physical eternal," he said, adding that he has learned
from other religions, too, about what God is for him and what his
role is in his work and life.
Garcia will be demonstrating his yoga skills and holding special
classes at Bikram's yoga schools around the Lower Mainland. For
a full schedule, visit www.esakgarcia.com.
Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, photographer and
illustrator living in Vancouver. Her work can be seen at www.orchiddesigns.net.
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