Yoga and Native teachings combined

Native American traditions and yoga combine for a holistic holiday

By Renee LorenzHaving so much to do within so little time can quickly cause an imbalance in the lives of even the most skilled holiday veterans.

It's this imbalance that Dennis Hawk, a Native American spiritual teacher and yoga workshop leader, seeks to help others correct. Hawk, a Cherokee and Mesquaki descendant, combines the healing practices of yoga with Native American teachings as a way to help promote an overall sense of well-being and connection to the natural world.

"In today's society, especially with all the technology we use, we get disconnected from the natural world," he says. "We as people have a yearning to reconnect with that."

To help address this, Hawk has developed workshops that uniquely combine the physical expression of yoga and Reiki practices with his spiritual teachings, which use a combination of music and Native American spiritualism.

"Yoga and Native American teachings fit so well together," he notes. "The concepts used in East Indian and Native American spiritual practices aren't so far apart."Comment:  On the other hand, a friend who is interested in both yoga and Native teachings considers it strange to combine them and thinks they should be kept separate.

For a related subject, see Indians and Buddhists Make Peace.

Below:  "Hawk, a Cherokee and Mesquaki descendant, uses Native American flute music to help others reconnect with the natural world."