Yoga And Wrestling- The Shaz Namaste Experience
Yoga and Wrestling
First off, I’d like to thank the team at PWdownunder for reaching out to me for this article. My name is Shaz Namaste and I am an ex yoga teacher turned pro wrestler. I also did some TV commercials on the side but that’s a story for another time. As far as I know I am the only Bengali Australian Pro Wrestler on the scene. I trained under Amy Action and Dean Draven of Wrestle Strong Dojo in Sydney NSW and am immensely grateful for the time and effort they took to train me. I will make my return to the ring soon- once I get the clearance from Mrs Namaste- you know how it is: a married life and a 9-5. That’s also another story for another time. I hope that by telling my story, you dear reader will be inspired to pick up the yoga practice.
What is yoga? Is it an ancient spiritual system of internal and external wellbeing practices designed to liberate oneself from the earthly realms into spiritual enlightenment? Is it just a series of breathing and stretching exercises? Is it just an excuse for dirty guys to look at hot girls in bright leggings and crop tops or for the cougars eyeing up the young toyboys?
The real answer is it all of the above but so much more. Yoga is just this thing- a way of life that integrates so well in todays society. And its needed due to our high stress lifestyle- whether you sit at a desk and computer, working in a warehouse or sitting at home depressed, jerking off and playing video games when you should be doing something with your life. A lot of people have a misconception that yoga is a little too fruity for them or they don’t have time to sit around and would rather lift weights. That’s fine and all but those are the same people that haven’t been punched in the face enough times or hard enough.
In the context of fighting, yoga is an important branch of the fighters journey: look at the ancient Indian wrestlers who incorporate hindu push ups and hindu squats (derived from yoga) as an example of strength building. Look at the modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner who is able to remain composed under pressure when being folded in half. Yoga is a fundamental science combining physical, physiological and spiritual benefits to the practitioner through a structured series of movements. The movements account for all humanly possible ranges of motion, balancing the strength with stretching exercises, the control of breathing from slow to rapid to holding of the breath, and meditation training to clear the mind of unnecessary tension. Why is this so important? The tangible benefits include improved blood circulation, body control, breath control, less likely to injure yourself, effective stress management and a mindset just like Thorfinn from Vinland Saga- “I have no enemies” and this just a fraction of the power of yoga.
How is yoga important in pro wrestling? A supple body in pro wrestling means more freedom in chain wrestling and as a Dean Malenko and Owen Hart fan this tickles my fancy. Your body is able to tell more stories through your actions and that’s what a pro wrestler wants to convey. I remember a time when Banjo Powers from Riot City Wrestling used a corner post to put me in a unique submission and that’s something I would have tapped out to without the yoga to prep my spine. I don’t remember who won but I’m glad I got out in one piece!
The suppleness is required for the larger moves- think about the arch in a good German or Fisherman suplex. One of my favourite crowd-pleasers I have done in a match is headspring out of tornado DDTs and that requires a level of body coordination I could not achieve without the yoga practice.
The breath control is so needed in a pro wrestling match. The breath work, paired with cardio and ring fitness equals a good match that is fast paced and action packed without the wrestlers being gassed out in the first two minutes- something you see in green and journeyman wrestlers.
I think the best thing about using yoga in pro wrestling the feeling of letting go. In yoga there is the concept of “sukha” and what this loosely translates to is “ease” in this context we perform physical postures to a natural range of motion where there’s no tension in the muscles, your face isn’t grimacing and you’re just breathing, liberating layers of pent-up stress from your body. This feeling of surrender is extremely important when taking a bump in wrestling. The moment you tense up is the moment a botch or an injury can take place. Wrestlers need to be able to trust and surrender their bodies to one another and make it home to their families afterwards.
I don’t know about you dear reader, but I am not one for injuries- in my small and stalling wrestling career of 3 years I can say I have been blessed with ZERO injuries. How many up-and-coming wrestlers do you know who shone so bright but fizzled out in that time? I want to perform and live my life outside of wrestling and with the power and benefits of yoga I am able to do so.
The beauty of yoga is that it is never too late to start. Yoga is for anybody and any body. A good teacher will guide you in your journey, encourage your progress, however large or small and in the case of my former students who I still keep contact with-build a strong social community outside of the class. Truth be told, as a teacher I took a no-nonsense approach by telling my students their movements sucked, why their movements sucked and how to make their movements suck less. I even recall telling my students I was the Samuel L Jackson of the yoga world. That comes with the showmanship of being a modern-day instructor not too dissimilar to pro wrestling.
The current new age of yoga treats the practice like a fashion accessory- something you pair with your margaritas and Chanel glasses or patchouli and Birkenstocks. Things have changed a little with the spiritual cool kids adding cold plunges and run clubs to this new age and look they are great but they are better without the vanity associated with it. I strongly believe that those kinds of people need to be punched in the face and experience actual hardship. Clearly you can see from my experience I didn’t actively go searching for students or do the marketing required for a small business to be successful. But for each student, there is a moment where they are ready to learn and then I as the teacher appeared like Gandalf after fighting the Balrog and changed their lives in some small but profound way. Teachers like that are rare but still exist! They are the hidden gems of extreme value and need to be held on to as long as possible!
I finish this story now hoping that my dear readers walk away inspired- inspired to do yoga to complement their wrestling, to develop their spiritual practice, to manage any stress in their lives, to live peacefully, practice the real yoga and find a great wizard teacher as good as if not better than myself- Shaz Namaste.
