Commerical Yoga:  The Follow-Up

I don't like complaining about something without giving some solution.  The solution to the current trend of commercializing Yoga is, in my mind, quite simple.  TEACH.  Teach others what Yoga truly is!  Teach the Yamas and Niyamas in every Yoga class.  Teach the truth of Yoga instead of trivializing it as the latest exercise program.  LEARN.  Learn what Yoga really is.  Learn its great history instead of swallowing the pap of those who claim that it's not Yoga if it doesn't look good.

Namasté

Commercial Yoga

It would appear that I am not the only one concerned with the increasingly commercial side of Yoga in North America.

We appeared so target market: women who, according to the Lululemon literature, pursue exercise to achieve physical fitness and inner peace. (And who have bought into the notion that looking swell at the same time is somehow more elevating.)

Being the politically aware, social activist type, she was not happy. The well-worn hoodie, years old now, still bore its "Made in Canada" label. The other togs were brand new and, she lamented, made in China.

She would not have purchased these latest items, she said, were it not for the fact that she had been given a gift certificate, so she was locked in to a purchase.

She wondered: has Lululemon lost its soul?

I'm not so sure it ever had one.

Don't get me wrong. The yoga-clothing maker is going like gangbusters. It merely indicated yesterday that third-quarter sales will probably exceed expectations. That was enough to send the share price shooting up a surreal $6 and change to close at $46.35.

. . . .

Surprisingly, the company does not produce a corporate social responsibility report. In its absence, shareholders can't test the boilerplate assertions now offered up by the company. "Social responsibility is in our DNA" is one example.

Thus far, Lululemon has expanded while holding firm to its grassroots marketing style and proclaiming that a community-based culture has put the company at a competitive advantage. That will truly be challenged only as the company expands aggressively in the United States.

Back at home, I fear my yoga pal will not be making a return trip to Lululemon any time soon.

Lululemon tries activism on for size, TheStar.com 17 Oct 2007

Namasté

Technical Issues

If anyone has tried to send me feedback via the Feedback links, I'm sorry to report that until now they've been broken.  I apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused.

Namasté

Good Days and Bad Days

We all have them, those days when even if something goes wrong the day is a good day.  We feel good, have a positive outlook on life and even the worst that life throws our way seems easy to handle.  Then there are those days when even the most trivial of tasks seems insurmountable.  As I've dealt with depression for as long as I can remember, my good days and my bad days seem to stand out in exceptionally stark contrast to each other and the other days, the days that are not exceptionally good nor bad but just are, those days sort of fade into the background and are forgotten.  One thing I've noticed is that my really good days are closely followed by really bad days but that the bad days are usually followed by a string of those other days.

I've recently noticed something new to me.  As I practice more regularly, the good days are not quite so bright, the bad days are not quite so dark and the days in between are brighter and more memorable.  Those good days are really still as bright and good as they ever were but they no longer stand out quite so dramatically because everything else is not nearly as dull as it was.  How can Yoga do that?  In the same way that Yoga helps a person to lose weight, to be kinder, to be healthier or any other good thing:  By changing one's perspective.  As I think on this change in perspective, I am reminded of an article I read in the Korea Herald in November of 2003:

Yet the monks find wisdom now and then in the most unexpected places. Ven. Hyunjin writes of the time when they hiked through the mountain in a downpour. As the waters swelled, they carefully crossed a stream, but one of the apprentice monks lost a rubber shoe in the torrent. At the next stream, he floated the other rubber shoe away too.

When I'd lost just one shoe, I was so worried. But now that I've gotten rid of both shoes, I feel so peaceful, he said, barefoot and happy.

Web-surfing Buddhist monks search for truth, The Korea Herald

Namasté

Equipment Addtion

I forgot to mention that I also use a stop watch.  Specifically, I use a Fossil digital sports watch with a timer.  Now why on Earth do I use a timer while practicing asanas?  I use the timer to help me know when to move from one pose to another.  Currently I have it set to do infinite repetitions of 30 seconds each.  Every 30 seconds the watch beeps once and I move to the new pose.  Using this method, it takes me about 14 minutes to do one full sun salutation.  If you haven't tried holding each pose for an extended period, you should give it a try!

Namasté

Yoga, the Hype Part II

I recently allowed my subscription to Yoga Journal to expire.  Why would I do such a thing, it's Yoga Journal!  There are two main reasons:  Where have all the men gone?  I am not sure that I have seen one yogin on the cover of YJ during my two year subscription.  The articles are the same, the vast majority are written by women for women.  Don't misunderstand me, I have no problem with women authors but I would like to see more men writing articles for YJ and I would like to see some articles for men by men now and then.  The real problem with YJ is the advertising and especially the advertising that is disguised as articles.  I'm already paying for a subscription so why are there constantly more and more ads in the magazine?  I would be more tolerant of the increase in ads if there was also an increase in the number of articles but that is not the case.  However, I simply cannot abide starting into an article only to discover that it's an ad!  If I want to read an article on soy milk, then I don't want to discover that it's really just and ad pushing brand X soy milk.

On this same theme, there's yoga everything now:  Yoga clothes, yoga socks, shoes, gloves, jewelry.  Yoga has gone from esoteric Indian thing to fitness fad to mass marketing.  How prevalent is this mentality of buying yoga?  I think the simple question, What equipment do I need to do yoga? really helps illustrate that yoga in America has become something that Yoga is not.

For those of you who might well have been caught by that very question, What equipment do I need to do yoga? let me answer it for you:  None.  If you have a flat surface that is slightly longer than you are tall, then you have all the equipment that you need.  Clearly that must mean that I don't use any equipment in my practice, right?  No but the point is that none of it is required.

Including the tools I bought to make my floor, I've spent about $300.00 over the last five years on Yoga and most of that—roughly $250—was on the heater and the floor.  If you listen to all the hype, you'll have a YogaWater Water Bottle, an OM-niscient Bracelet, a MatMaster sticky mat carrier and who knows how many more Yoga branded gimmicks along with a much lighter wallet.  Yes, my floor and heater and mat and rug make my practice more enjoyable because I don't have to herd the rest of the family out of a room to practice but without that need—a need I am grateful to have—I would just crank up the heater and my $5.00 briefs would be all I'd need.

Namasté

Weight Loss, Blood Pressure & Hype

We've all seen them:  Articles extolling the health benefits that yogis the world over reap from their practice.  Now articles are beginning to surface which say that Yoga's impact on a person's health is minimal at best.  Which do we believe?  We'll fight tooth and nail until all the foes of Yoga and it's multitude of health benefits are avenged!  True, ahimsa would seem to be at odds with that approach.  That being the case, I can still hear sabers rattling at this shift in the media.  What foolish temerity to challenge the age old wisdom that is Yoga!

Actually, I agree with these later findings.  Yoga alone is not a good way to lose weight nor to lower one's blood pressure nor a host of other such health issues.  Yoga is not, never has been nor ever will be an exercise regiment.  In fact, I know that many people actually gain some weight when they start practicing Yoga.  Now, before a Yoga Lynch Mob descends upon me let me say this:  Practicing Yoga can help a person lose weight, lower their blood pressure and provides a host of other health benefits.

There are a number of asanas that you can use to help deal with the whiplash you're likely suffering right now.  First I say Yoga doesn't help and then I say it does, I should probably make up my mind.  Actually both statements are true.  Yoga cannot replace aerobic work outs nor strength training nor a health diet nor can it provide the benefits that these activities provide.  It can, however, be a great motivator to take up these other healthly activities.  Rather than make a person healthier, Yoga makes a person aware.  As one becomes more aware of oneself and becomes united in body and spirit, then it naturally follows that one will try to be healthier.  Yoga doesn't provide better health, it motivates a person to better health.

As I wrote above, I know of some people who have actually gained weight after starting asanas practice.  The reason is that they learn to handle their stress better.  Less stress means fewer calories burned in a day and so it's not uncommon for a slight weight increase.  Yoga didn't put those pounds there, it just allowed a change and the pounds were an after-effect.  Yoga does provide direct health benefits over just sitting on a couch eating chips.  The real benefits come from the fundamental changes Yoga can make in one's life and not from Sweating to the Oldies, Yoga Style.

Namasté

Where Have All The Sutras Gone?

Perhaps Sutras is too high an appellation to apply to my meager writings but Where Have All the Entries Gone is rather lack luster!  Then again, isn't my wanting to have a catchy title for today's entry just a little self-aggrandizing, a little greedy?  Truth be told, it probably is but I can't think of anything better; if you can, drop me an email!

I started writing and I practicing again back in May.  My asana practice has been somewhat regular—that's a topic for another day—but my writing has been non-existent until today, why?  In the past I have almost always written somewhat regularly while I've practiced but not this summer.  There are a number of reasons but the main reason stems from two emails that I received in May.  The writer asked the following regarding my Yoga practice and my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints:

I know going to the extemes _[sic] on anything is not good but how do you find the balance and not loose focus on the church?

My response was that first and foremost that I know that the doctrines of the LDS church are true.  I know it, God knows I know it and even if I had cause to lie about such a thing I would dare not.  As to how I actually mesh the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Yoga:  I use Yoga to keep me happy day to day—lower stress, better health—while using the scriptures and the Gospel to set my course and direction.  I wish now that I had written exactly those words because I rambled on a bit and I fear I may well have offended one who had written to me looking for reassurances that there is a way to balance the Gospel and Yoga.

Out of that concern, allow me to take this space to publicly apologize if I did indeed offend.  Offence was never my intent and if offence was taken, I am truly sorry and ashamed and would beg forgiveness.  That you asked me for support was a great honor but instead of being humbled, I became arrogant.  I felt as if I had all the answers and, to my shame, wrote as if I were someone of authority or of great import.  Even if I did not offend you, it was weak of me to feel so self-important.  I am sorry.

Therein lies the danger and the reason I haven't written since May.  Call it ego, pride, vanity or arrogance in reality it is all stupidity and greed.  Stupid to believe that I am better than another when in reality I simply may have some experience that might benefit another.  How does that make me better?  What greed lies in my heart when I try to claim someone else's success as my own?  Yes, they may have been helped to achieve their desire through learning from me but that does not lessen their success nor give me right to claim it for myself.  I should rather simply be content knowing that I helped another.

Namasté

Confessions from the Mat

It has been a very long time since I last wrote, clearly as the previous entry was made last August.  What is not so clear—to you at least, as it is quite painfully clear to me—is that it has also been quite a long time since I last found myself on a practice mat.  Now it is true that Yoga is much more than just asanas, as I've mentioned before; however, it is very difficult to practise ahimsa or dhyana when ones entire body is screaming in pain.

I've realized, again, that I need Yoga in my life . . . every day.  Sound familiar?  Actually, I never doubted that I needed Yoga.  Why then, wasn't I practising asanas?  Why wasn't I focused on dharana and dhyana?  Time.  As I noted in March of 2005—yes, my practice and my focus have been a bit scattered for that long now—my work schedule changed from five 8 hour shifts to four 10 hour shifts.  At first I was quite happy with my new schedule but one year later, I had realized that I was no longer happy with this new schedule and my reasons for being unhappy with it were growing.

A number of things have happened recently to highlight that I simply must make Yoga, with all its limbs, part of my daily life.  I simply cannot survive without it.  Whether it's the increased stress, the nearly unbearable pain or the depression lurking just out of sight, I simply do not have the tools to deal with these things without Yoga.

So, what has returned me to this Blog and, more importantly, to my mat?  Well, firstly the pressures on me have reached the point where something must give and every time I have reviewed the situation the answer has invariably been, If only I had time for Yoga!  Secondly, one of you who read Everyday Yoga wrote to me asking for insight into how I reconcile my religion with Yoga.  That message caused and still causes me a great deal of introspection but more of that tomorrow.

Now I begin again where I am, stiff, sore, rigid.  Unlike the other times I have tried to start my practice again, this time I take enjoyment in my rigid joints and stiff muscles.  I do not thinking longingly back upon practices long past when I would relax in sirsasana but rather I take pleasure in finding that space between, where muscles and tendons dance along the edge of pain but never quite fall into it; that place where even standing still takes my breath away.

When the time is right, I will ask for a return to five 8 hour shifts and I will again find peace on the sanctuary of my mat in my own home.  Until then, I will close my office door each day and seek peace for a moment or two as I can and I will be content.

Namasté