Satchitananda

The Yoga Controversy. What?

Here’s an article explaining the controversy, one that many, if not most have seen by now: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?pagewanted=all

My take on the yoga controversy: Yoga means union, to unify the body and mind; thus knowing your body, knowing your limitations and when to push beyond your limitations. The people that are getting hurt, whether it be by teachers or themselves, are not listening to the essence of yoga (knowing your body/yourself/etc.).  Whether people like to admit it or not, yoga is a very spiritual practice.  It can be done purely for exercise, but at some point the spirituality of yoga will sneak its way out into your practice.  It is so wonderful that a numerous amount of people are wanting to try out yoga, or are being recommended to it by their doctors, but there has been a disconnect.  These days yoga has been turned into this fad with celebrity-like leaders paving the way for uneducated followers to troll behind. Just as in any sport, activity, or hobby, if one is not educated correctly, they may hurt themselves—but because yoga is seen as this art of healing, it is thought by public/media that no injury should ever happen.  So, the problem is not the yoga itself, it is the way that it is being taught.  The “asana” or poses are only one of 8 elements to yoga, unfortunately due to the controversy over religion, many times the other 7 elements are not taught.  Some sly teachers are so good at what they do that they are able to interweave the other 7 limbs into a class without you even knowing, they are the good ones.  But when a teacher continues to say “listen to your body” but offers no reasoning behind it, it will do no good and people will continue to wonder what that actually means.  A person is only actually “doing” yoga when they are in the present moment, listening to their body, working their edge (point between pushing right up to limitation), and breathing, simple as that.  In most power yoga classes today, does this happen?  

Many teachers are teaching these power kick your butt-fall on the ground-classes with no philosophy in mind, just the determination to kick their students bootys. Thus, the injuries.  Our body can only be as strong as our mind, yet this is not taught.  Until the spirituality is brought back and the ego is left behind, yoga teachers and students will continue to be injured. It is very American to think that knowing our limitations is a sign of weakness, but why is this?  Why can’t we understand that in knowing our limitations we then can seek to push beyond those limitations little by little, instead of attempting Astavakrasana in a students’ 2nd yoga class. Yoga is about finding joy in the journey, the progress, the road there; not necessarily the end product.  As our advancing world of technology continues to make shortcuts for our lives, create ease, and open new opportunties, we must be aware that the way we are beginning to live our lives so interwoven instant gratification, not placing any importance on the means to the end, but just the end itself.  On the mat, if we let it, yoga serves to help remind us that life is all about the journey.  It is not about those high moments of intensity, or low days of sadness, it is everything inbetween that has gotten us to those places. It is a humbling practice. It teaches us to be aware, present, content, and overall grateful for what we have been given: life on this earth.