There is a lot of strange journalism going on around yoga lately. It’s All Yoga Baby addressed the NYT coverage beautifully and, of course, John Friend’s response to the article about him. Yoga is a hot pop culture item right now with Eat Pray Love coming out and every other retailer boasting an Eat Pray Love line. Of course, fame comes with crazy backlash.
I’ve been reading The Great Oom: the Improbable Birth of Yoga in America - it is absolutely fascinating. Even the men who came over from India in the late 19th and early 20th century disagreed about yoga – many of them thought asana wasn’t real yoga. There were swindlers showing up all over America professing themselves to be the next great guru to bring true yoga to America – often with a hefty fee and shady intention. It was demonized in the press and prosecuted in the courts, all based on misunderstandings. In fact, this piss-poor piece of journalism reminds me of some of the hype from the first decade of the 20th century I read about in the book:
[Okay, so for some reason it won't embed, you'll have to watch it here.]
First of all, there is a national standard for yoga teachers – it is called Yoga Alliance. Find a teacher who got at least a 200-hour training from a Yoga Alliance-approved studio. (P.S. I bet I can go online and become a priest, a fitness expert, a doctor, a nurse, and a therapist for the right price, too.)
Second of all, AHIMSA (do no harm). This is my experience and opinion: It is the teacher’s responsibility to give good instruction and provide a safe practice but it is equally the student’s responsibility to listen to their body. Yoga is not easy, it is not “just stretching.” Your work on the mat challenges you to find stillness when your mind & body are challenged. Sometimes, the most challenging part of the practice can be letting go of ego and backing off.
I injured my shoulder in January. Instead of charging on and blaming yoga, I backed off, asked for advice, and looked closely at my practice to see how to heal & avoid further injury. Turns out it was more about my desk and keyboard at work than it was my yoga practice, but I still had to back way off. Low cobra instead of chaturanga (which I love, peels my heart open), drop my knees in side plank, drop my knees for push ups, take childs pose, extra slow heart-openers at home before going to the studio, etc. for a couple months. That is called checking ego at the door and taking personal responsibility to not hurt myself.
Third of all, Yoga is a lifelong practice. Elizabeth Gilbert had been practicing for years by the time she went to Bali. The memoir is HER journey, not ours. It was a deeply personal journey that is inspiring. However, her teachers may not be the teachers for other people. We cannot experience these things as she experienced them.
Just like any physical endeavor, you will find ways to get injured and avoid injury. Just like any industry, you will find people trying to make money. Just like any spiritual path, you will find wolves in sheep’s clothing.
It’s up to us take responsibility for the choices we make – whether it is walking in to a yoga studio for the first time or deciding to give our life savings to an ashram.
Just watch out for the yoga rage
(ed. note: ak! nothing is embedding!)
