MAIN STREA M

                                                                                       YOGA

 

Most of the time I have problems with mainstream Yoga. You know, Yoga Journal Yoga. I get caught up in the next “big pose” goal or the new eating fad. I forget the pull the mainstream has on us. To quote my favorite climber and experimental boulder-er of the 50's and 60's John Gill, he said about the mainstream, “When I first recognized the tremendous force a mainstream perceptive, the tremendous force that a climbing community can exert upon your climbing experience, I realized I wanted to experiment with climbing, that I wasn't interested in making my climbing fall into a category, walking in someone else's foot-seps, or obeying a set of informal rules, even if these are unwritten rules.” (from Eiger Dreams by Jon Krakouer p. 20).

I feel the same way about the Americanization of the Yoga we practice. You have to buy clothes and a rubber mat with a cool mat carrier and steel bottle and specialized air freshener with a humidified room and bells made from Asia with incense that comes the temple of a Lama...and...and....I study Anusara, Ashtanga, Hatha, or Watha or Boddikan (the fusion of Yoga and Martial Arts) Or Yogalatties, or Pilaties, and on and on. I think, just push floor like a Yogi. You don't need anything for Yoga except the body you have! We are all guilty of profiting off of Yoga. Another very Western Idea.

However, Yoga in the West really emphasis posing and that's not a bad thing. Aggressive strong styles of Yoga give a Yogi a strong dynamic body which can be a great thing. The diet is good. It has lots of live foods no meat. Science has brought out fully that Yoga posing and vegan or vegetarian diets give one a long and healthy life. One can't dispute these claims anymore. But it's only one minor part of Yoga and we Westerners make it a major part.

I'm trying not to be greater than “thou” that would be silly to those who cultivate “thou” for want of money which is another American Yoga interpretation of this ancient body science. Bikrim is a good example. I'm mean, trying to copyright Yoga poses is like trying to copy right the use of a particular language. However, how can you fault someone trying to make a living doing something they love and is important to them. All good teachers love to pass knowledge on. I was told once, the greatest gift you can give your teacher is to “do it right.” That has a lot of meanings like being honest about your path.

I think we get off track to the true basis for this internal science which is the realization of the innermost self. In Western thought I “I think therefore I am,” (Decartes) and then there is “matter” or the body. Simply put “Mind” and “Body.” It's duality in the West but in Eastern thought it is a tri-ality or a tripartite between the mind-body-spirit. With so much Emphasis on outer form, such as posing or asana, we abandon the other two. There are so many different modalities to choose from in Yoga to reach liberation from the body and the mind to the spirit, it's a shame we emphasize just one aspect of this science.

There is Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of devotion to the love of God), Karma Yoga (regarding one's life as service. Example Mahatma Gandhi), Jnana Yoga (the Yoga of Wisdom), Raja Yoga, (Working with higher states of Yoga through meditation, such as Pantanjali's “The Yoga Sutras”). Trantra Yoga (pulls many different elements to reach liberation) Hatha Yoga (a system that prepares the body for spiritual realization), Kundalini Yoga (a mystifying Yoga where one needs a guru), Mantra Yoga (the Yoga of chanting and sacred words). These are used to free the individual of all habit forming paths that chain one from reaching liberation. A habit forming path could be interpreted as the mainstream perceptive and it's unwritten rules.

In the end, it's liberation we seek not the perfect pose and perfect poses may not necessarily bring liberation. I've often thought of myself as a wondering Taoist who does Yoga. I seek liberation but I'm not locked down to the idea that a stainless steal bottle of water or a stylish Yoga mat will get me there. Finding liberation is a personal choice that really has nothing to do with which style of Yoga one studies or which studio one goes too.