The Yoga Blog

Namaste in a nutshell

kim on 11:38 am January 9th, 2012 / Be the first to comment! »

Compassion is a mega emotion like fear. It can underlie all the other feelings we have. The opposite of fear, compassion is a bija, or seed, energy in the body that when present softens everything the right way. Especially the heart and eyes. When we experience compassion we can be doing anything, even (or especially when) disciplining a child. Compassion does not mean to be nicer; it means to take in totally the experience of the person or thing you are interacting with. It’s “namaste” in a nutshell.

how yoga ruined my life

kelly on 11:18 am January 9th, 2012 / 4 Comments »

hi everybody!

Tons of you i’m sure have seen the much talked about article in the NYT  .. it’s called “how yoga can wreck your life” and if you ask me, its introductory image speaks as loud as any of its words. (it’s three actors doing yoga poses in costumes with silly faces and bad form.) Still, i found some portion of the message valid.

First, i’ll jump on the ship most respectable yoga teachers will ride and say that if you buy into any of this B.S. you’re aligning yourself with a body of teaching that is frankly low-quality, piss-poor, and hardly yoga at all. Then, i’ll tell you about the validity i noted in his message.

The oddest thing about the article to me is that the main guy they’re talking about is blabbing on about “yoga” as if it is a “thing out there.” A thing that can come and get you while you aren’t paying attention and oh my goodness! “wreck your body.” This is a blatant way that people who have not claimed their personal agency in the world present their problems. It’s called having a victim mentality. Google it.

Before you decide to lock yourself in your house and hide from the yoga monster, let me clarify a few points. Yoga is a practice. Therefore, it requires a practicer. That would be you. Or me. Or whomever is practicing at that moment. In its most essential form, it’s all of us. Practicing yoga. That means, we are the dictators of whether or not yoga “wrecks our bodies.” If something feels like it is “wrecking you,” might i suggest you stop doing that thing? This is not rocket science, but it is worth saying twice. If any practice is wrecking your body, you should stop doing it or change your approach. That’s called having personal agency and ruling your own body. You are the boss. Asana and yoga are vast.

The squirrely part emerges when you examine the nature of any student-teacher relationship and observe that there is a possibility for any student to defer to their teacher’s instruction to such a degree that they carry on forth despite signals in their mind-body that are saying RED ALERT! I’M BEING WRECKED. I will clarify first that at Boundless Yoga, our teachers honor YOU. You are the practitioner, and you are the absolute 100% boss of your body at any given moment in class. Our teachers are just that. Teachers. And they can and will offer you the highest quality, very best, information they have at any given moment.

So – in short. I don’t think this guy’s imaginary yoga monster is going to come to your house and wreck your body, but as you may recall, I did say i felt some of his message was valid. strongly so . It’s this. asana is not a panacea. I firmly believe with my entire body that yoga is a MIRACLE. but the idea that asana is a cure-all for everything — that is a viewpoint that can be taken to an extreme and could hurt you. Believing that asana is the path to resolving all of your ailments is something that could cause you harm. The practice of yoga has eight limbs, and asana is only one limb. Further, your dharma and your karma both shape what the correct action for your unique body is at any given moment. I think this article is cool – bc it’s timely — bc more people are embracing the mystery and the miracle that asana is in 2012. And as they do, like any wonderful creation, it’s possible to over-indulge ones-self. Remember to maintain a sense of balance in your world, in your mind, and in your relationships – especially with your teachers. Then you will not need to fear that the yoga monster is coming to get you. Rawr.

in dharma,

kelly