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Stan Kononov, owner of the Health and Power Yoga Studio in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward, discusses several yoga traditions, sun salutations, chakras and mantras in the video above. Stan Kononov Kononov, who began a career in martial arts in eastern Ukraine, started practicing yoga in 1994 to improve his flexibility and find relieve from an injury. In 1997, he met his first yoga instructor, who taught iyengar yoga. While practicing the postures, or asanas, of iyengar yoga, Kononov pulled some muscles and incurred problems with his knees and lower back. His second instructor taught him raja yoga, a meditation-based practice. This type of yoga bothered him because it was not physical enough, he said. From then on, he practiced a mix of iyengar yoga with several other types of yoga. Kononov started teaching yoga in Ukraine in 2000. In 2003, he came to the U.S. He works as a massage therapist, offering several treatments: Thai massage and Burmese massage, deep tissue massage, cranialsacral therapy and Chinese massage. Thai massage, also called passive yoga, involves pressure points and stretching in different directions. Deep tissue massage releases muscle tension through compression. Cranialsacral therapy involves light pressure on the skull and spine to relieve migraines and headaches, neck and back pain, central nervous system disorders, fatigue scoliosis, among other physical conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Is Yoga a Faith? The short answer is no. Kononov said: “Yoga by itself is not a faith. You can be Christian. You can be Muslim. It doesn’t matter from your beliefs or your religion.” Instead, he said, yoga is a way to develop your mind and deepen your spirituality, whether you follow Jesus Christ or Allah. Practicing yoga broadens your perceptions and teaches you to feel and observe your emotions without letting them destroy you, he said. Kononov said he is an atheist. His spiritually aligns most closely with Buddhism, but he still has many unanswered questions. “My mind is free. My mind is open. And I just sharpen. I can make my mind as a perfect instrument,” he said. Jyoti, a yogi at The Yogi Society in Milwaukee, said yoga is malleable to any religion. You can use it as an instrument to deepen your faith or pick and choose meditation techniques, postures and stretches that work for you. “As long as you can use it to better your life,” she said. By Melanie Pawlyszyn |
