Daniel Miller Sandoval is a fourth-year
political science and history student and serves as chairperson of
the Campus Retention Committee.
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I first met yogi Sayler VanMerlin two weeks ago, on the urging
of a friend who took the instructor’s Bliss Yoga class at the
Sunset Recreation Center and told me that the class was the most
unique leisure she had ever experienced.
Upon entering the Buenos Aires room at the conclusion of
VanMerlin’s Monday class ““ he also teaches Wednesdays
““ I found him sitting serenely on a rubber mat, wearing a
bright yellow fleece. As I approached the 33-year old yogi ““
VanMerlin reminds me that this was Jesus’ age when he was
crucified ““ his students roamed about the dimly lit room,
preparing to exit. I introduced myself with a handshake and the
yogi held my hand just long enough to make me feel a bit strange
““ it seemed as if he were downloading my aura into his soul,
my hand the conduit for this transfer.
Even before my first class, that initial encounter left me with
a myriad of questions about Bliss Yoga ““ best described by
VanMerlin’s catch phrase, “working smarter, not
harder” ““ and VanMerlin himself. So, at the
yogi’s suggestion he and I sat on a grassy hill near the
recreation center’s pool, and I picked his brain and heart
for an hour.
Daniel Miller: You have a pretty unique name; is there a story
behind it?
Sayler VanMerlin: Yes, there is an interesting story. This is
after years of yoga practice, when you are doing yoga you start
changing from the inside out. There are obvious changes, like you
become more flexible and you become more healthy and vibrant but
there are inner changes too that happen in your personality. You
become more sensitive and you start to notice these changes. After
a while, your old name doesn’t feel right anymore, almost
like that person died. I asked for a name, I asked my teacher,
“Hey, will you give me a name,” and he said,
“Okay, go to this Web site (he laughs). Usually they will
just come right out with a name. But in this instance, you should
go to this Web site, www.kabalarians.com, which calculates your
name according to the time you are born.”
DM: Have you legally changed your name?
SM: I have legally changed my name one time, and I am kind of
lagging behind on this one ““ this is not my first name
change. (Laughs) Its not like I’m constantly looking for
names or anything.
DM: Is your old name worth mentioning?
SM: It is a powerful name. This is more of a traditional
yogi’s name, it is a two-part name, first name is Yam, last
name is Bam ““ Yam Bam. That is my current legal name, my bank
name. That name has a meaning, it (has) a sound that induces
meditation, designed to purify the elements of your mind and
body.
DM: During the session I noticed you had a couple of tattoos.
Are they related to yoga at all?
SM: That all happened before I got into yoga. Those are things
that have a deep meaning for me, even today. I could get into that
if you wanted to, but they are basically seven tattoos that I got
over time. In my other life.
VanMerlin is rather reticent about elaborating on his past, as
he avoids directly answering questions about his life before yoga,
and I wonder myself what he was doing. VanMerlin was born in
Germany and moved with his family to the United States as a young
boy; I imagine he was born with a more common name like Eric or
Steven. Yet, it is very clear that he does not want to delve into
that subject. So I focused my questions on yoga, something I have
always been skeptical about. The session of Bliss yoga I attended
was definitely relaxing ““ it is hard to turn “˜laying on
a mat in a dark room’ into a stressful event. So for an hour,
the students in the class breathed in and out louder than a fleet
of industrial vacuum cleaners as VanMerlin called out positions in
Sanskrit which sounded more like dishes one might order at an
Indian restaurant. Some of the commentary that VanMerlin gave in
his soothing voice seemed hokey to me, and some of the positions
strange. I needed him to clarify some of the finer points of
yoga.
DM: You mentioned the crown a lot, is that the head?
SM: Yes the crown is the head. If you look at the yogic map of
consciousness, you start at the base of the spine and work your way
up to the head. There are seven sectors of consciousness that are
named chakras ““ these centers of consciousness cannot be seen
or felt with physical instruments. It’s another thing we have
to develop sensitivity to. It is a scientific fact that 90 percent
of all energy (is) undetectable. Like when they take all these
energy readings of the stars, they say, “Wow, we can’t
even see where this is all coming from, like 90 percent of what we
are getting here ““ the equations don’t balance.”
If it is true that 90 percent of everything is invisible, obviously
there must be something going on that is motivating what we see,
something deeper that is causing the effects that we see.
DM: We did a pose today, called wind-relieving pose. What is
that?
SM: There are several poses that work really well on the
digestive system and one is called wind-relieving pose. Another one
that works really well is rock pose ““ which is simply sitting
back on your heels. When you sit that way, it really helps
digestion. The yogic reason for it being called rock pose, is that
it allows you to sit still as rock, and when it is perfected, the
yogi can digest rocks.
The affable VanMerlin enjoys teaching at UCLA and hopes to be
back next year. VanMerlin also spoke about his teacher Mursshud, a
master yogi with the ability to take a vial of LSD and not be
affected by it, and the Circle of Friends, a San Diego-based yoga
organization with which VanMerlin is associated that has facilities
in Long Beach. He was very polite and answered every question that
I tossed his way, often including unusual medical facts and
percentages, and surprising me with elaborate responses to my
ostensibly simple questions.
DM: What kind of diet do you have?
SM: You are going to laugh; this is going to blow a lot of
minds. I eat a lot of meat. That’s one of the main things
““ that I eat a lot of meat. In traditional Hatha yoga, it is
advised to not eat meat. The reason I eat meat is because Hatha
yoga is not my primary practice, my primary practice is Tibetan
yoga. And in Tibetan yoga, there is a strong emphasis on meat.
DM: What is your favorite kind of meat?
SM: It is hard to pick a favorite.
DM: Perhaps you enjoy a nice steak?
SM: Steak is really good. Rare steak. Um … (I like) turkey,
chicken, I love sandwiches. (I like) any kind of sandwich with meat
on it.
At one point during the interview when we were discussing the
merits of wheat grass, sprinklers suddenly turned on, soaking us
through and through. I quickly grabbed my tape recorder and jumped
up, my heart pounding. I turned to VanMerlin who was calm and
laughing loudly. I guess all that yoga does some good.
CORRECTION:The statement in the story “On meditation,
diet, identity: An interview with a yogi” (Sports, May 1)
that said master Yogi Mursshud could take a vial of LSD and not be
affected by it was incorrect. Correction posted 5/3/2002